The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same
by OPKILLERFROST100813
Summary: Same Shit, Different Day. The 141 takes on Makarov with a little added help. Four women who can change the course of history and save those who have fallen.
1. Takedown

**Tracking… Found**

 **Sergeant Gary "Roach" Sanderson**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Rio de Janeiro, Brazil**

We were in the safe house at 0200 hours waiting for the militia to start moving, looking for Alejandro Rojas. We were looking for Rojas because he supplied the assault on the airport yesterday. I can't believe that one day Allen went from being a Ranger on the front lines, to a member of the 141 the next, then implanted into Makarov's inner circle and killed the day after that. It's just unbelievable.

"Militia is on the move. We're Oscar Mike." Captain MacTavish said

A chorus of hooahs, oorahs, and whatever else was said by one's respective military branch. With us, we had Meat, Royce, Ghost, MacTavish, Desert, Hazard, Neon, Spirit, me, and Angel. We all grabbed our gear and headed to the two SUVs that were parked outside. I put my gun on the floor with the barrel sticking down and climbed in the front passenger seat. MacTavish and Desert climbed in the back.

"So, Roach, you were just about to tell us how you got your codename." Desert said

She was talking about the conversation the teammates were having inside before MacTavish came in.

"I'm a tough bastard to kill." I said "What about you? How'd you get 'Desert' to be your codename?"

She reached into her pistol holsters and took out two Desert Eagle pistols. She showed them off to me then put them back in her holsters.

"I carry around two Desert Eagles."

"Oh."

Desert turned to our Captain with a curious look on her face.

"What about you, sir? Do you have a codename?" Desert asked

"I have one; I just prefer not to use it. Now, will you two muppets shut up and focus on the mission?"

"Yes, sir." Desert and I said

MacTavish was a more serious Captain than the one that preceded him. Captain Price. Now he was what all soldiers aspired to be. It was as if it was impossible to kill him. The man would walk through anything and survive. Almost anything.

Almost three years ago, we went into the Ukraine with Delta operatives Sandman and Frost. We went in to find Vladimir Makarov codename: Kingfish. We went in to the compound with Delta's sniper support and Hammer 6-4's air support. We got into what was an Intel goldmine. That's when the C4 went off. Next thing we knew we were running for our lives through the forest, dodging shots from the Russians and explosions from 6-4's rounds. We made it to the LZ, but it was too hot. Hammer 6-4 went down, and MacTavish got hit by a RPG. Price stayed behind while Frost and I got MacTavish on board the Osprey and took off. Out the windows, we could see Price get hit in the shoulder, take out his sidearm, and get hit again, being made a prisoner of war.

My thoughts were interrupted when MacTavish talked to Ghost through the coms.

"Wait, they've stopped again. Standby."

We watched as two members of the militia get out of their vehicle and walk towards a building. Walking out, with his hands in surrender, was Rojas' right hand man.

"Got a positive ID! Whoever these guys are, they're not happy to see him." Desert said

I saw Rojas' assistant take out a Desert Eagle and shoot the two militia members. Another member came around the back of the vehicle, but was shot and killed.

"Ghost, we have a situation here! Get down! Get down!" MacTavish yelled

Rojas' assistant opened fire on us, bullets flying through the window, a couple finding their way into Angel's body. I got down and pressed my body against the dashboard, and ducked the bullets.

"He's getting away! Roach, Desert, let's go!"

I got out of the car and turned the safety off of my ACR.

"Ghost! Angel's down! We're on foot! Meet us at the Hotel Rio and cut him off if you can!"

"Roger. I'm on my way." Ghost said

I sprinted down the street, past the dead bodies, and made a right. I turned the corner and saw either dead bodies, people running in terror, or MVAs. I didn't see Rojas' assistant. _Where the hell did this guy go?_ I wondered. That's when I heard more gunshots and turned left. I saw Rojas' assistant run into an alleyway near the Hotel Rio.

"He went into the alley!" Ghost yelled

Ghost, Hazard, Neon, and Spirit showed up on our nine running into the alley with us.

"Non-lethal takedowns only! We need him alive!" MacTavish said

We all ran into the alley way and saw Rojas' assistant running for a set of stairs, trying to get to the Favela.

"Roach! Take the shot! Go for the leg!" MacTavish yelled

I aimed down my ACOG sight and aimed right for his right calf. _Where the fuck do you think you're going?_ I thought to myself. I pulled the trigger and watched Rojas' assistant collapse in pain, holding onto his calf.

"He's down." Neon said

We all ran up to him and looked down on him. I stepped on his wrist. I picked up his Desert Eagle and put it in my spare holster. _I think I'll keep this._ I thought. I looked up and saw Hazard and Ghost pick up Rojas' assistant and dragged him up towards an open garage.

"Anybody see a car battery?" Ghost asked

"Yeah, I got one over here." Hazard said

"I found some jumper cables!" I said

"Good. Bring them over here." Ghost said

I walked over to where Ghost was setting up his "torture station" as I liked to call it. Ghost put the battery on the table and attached the jumper cables sending off sparks.

"Neon, Spirit, bring him over here." MacTavish said

Neon and Spirit picked Rojas' assistant up and dropped him next to the table. MacTavish dragged over a chair and tied up Rojas' right hand man. I walked out of the garage with Desert, Spirit, Meat, and Royce. MacTavish walked over to us and closed the door halfway.

"Roach, this is going to take some time. Go with the others and check the Favela for any signs of Rojas. That's where this guy was heading." MacTavish said

I saw Ghost spark off the jumper cables just before MacTavish closed the door.

"Let's go. Remember, there are civilians in the Favela. Watch your fire out there." Royce said

We all went up a nearby staircase and walked towards a fence. There was a hole in the fence and we waked over there.

"Meat, get these civvies out of here." Royce said

"Roger that." Meat said

Meat jumped down into the Favela and spayed into the air.

"Este lugar não é seguro!" Meat yelled in Portuguese

The civilians ran in terror as the rest of us jumped down and joined him. I walked forward and saw a bullet pass so close to my face that I could see the smudges from the gunpowder on the sides.

"Take cover!" I yelled

Militia started to pour out of the houses in the area and started to appear on the rooftops. I pushed to the right and went down an alley, then turned left and was confronted with at least twenty members of the militia. I took out a flashbang and blind threw it, and when it went off, I heard yelling from all the militia that I blinded. Once I heard that, I turned the corner and quickly and efficiently killed the militia in my way.

"Meat is down! I repeat! Meat is down!" Royce yelled over the coms

That made me stop in my tracks. Meat was dead? He may not have been the most liked person on the Task Force, but he was like the glue that held us together. Without Meat and his shenanigans, we wouldn't be as close as a team. I had completely forgotten that I was in the middle of the Favela being shot at until I felt somebody tackle me from behind. When I hit the ground, I turned around, ready to punch my assailant in the face. But when I turned around, Desert was laying on top of me, breathing heavily.

"You're welcome." She said

"For what?" I asked

"I just saved your life! Try showing me a little gratitude!"

"Well excuse me, but I wasn't paying attention! We just lost a team mate! Meat is gone, and we're not going to get to bury him because the militia is going to take his body!"

"Well that's still no excuse-" she began

"Roach! I'm hit!" Royce yelled

That's when I zoned out for the second time. Two men in one day? It just seemed unreal. Royce and Meat were best friends. At least they'll be together now. It was just so unfair that they had to die and we get to live. Why is one man's life taken, and another's spared? It just wasn't right.

"Roach! We have to move! MacTavish has Rojas on the run!" Spirit yelled

That snapped me back into gear. That bastard was going to pay for what he's done to Meat and Royce. He may not have killed them personally, but he was the whole reason that they were dead. We started racing through the Favela, killing the militia, trying to find and cut off Rojas. At one point, Ghost had a clean leg shot, but MacTavish wants Rojas alive and unharmed. We kept running higher and higher up the Favela, until we reached the summit.

"He's gonna get away!" yelled Ghost

"No he's not." MacTavish said calmly

We turned a corner and saw Rojas running on the balcony of a three story building. Right as Rojas ran past the glass door leading inside, MacTavish came bursting out of the glass, tackling Rojas onto a car three stories below.

"Frontrunner, this is Bravo-Six. We've got the package. I repeat, we've got the package." MacTavish said holding Rojas at gunpoint

"Command, ready for dustoff. Send the chopper. Coordinates to follow- Bollocks! The skies are clear! Send the chopper now! Command's got their head up their arse. We're on our own." Ghost said

"What happened to alive and _unharmed_?" Desert muttered next to me

"I don't know. Let's find out what this bastard has got to tell us." I said

I walked over to the car, pulled Rojas off the car, and then pushed the hood open. I checked that there was a battery and then went to the trunk. It was my lucky day. Right in the middle of the trunk, was a pair of jumper cables.

"Por favor não me machuque. Eu sou apenas um turista!" Rojas said

"You're not fooling anybody with that shit." I said

I dragged Rojas over to a barred window and pulled his arms behind his back and into the bars, not caring if I break his arms.

"Argh! Por que você está fazendo isso comigo? O que você quer?" Rojas yelled

"Onde está o Vladimir Makarov?!" I yelled

"Quem é esse? Não sei o que você está falando!"

"Fine have it your way."

I hooked up the jumper cables to the battery, then attached the other ends to the metal bars.

"Não! por favor! Eu vou te dizer o que você quer saber!"

"To late for that. Ghost, give it some gas."

Ghost walked over to the car and hotwired it, then floored the gas pedal.

"Good." I called out to Ghost.

Ghost let off the gas and turned the car off.

"Você vai cooperar agora?" I asked

"Sim! Sim! Só não me choca novamente!" Rojas yelled

"bom... agora. onde. é. Vladimir Makarov?"

"Eu não sei."

"Ghost, get the car ready."

Ghost started to get back in the car, or what's left of it.

"Não! Não! 627 de prisioneiro! prisioneiro 627 é em um gulag perto de petropavlovsk, Rússia! Ele vai levar você a makarov! Eu juro!"

"Hold on Ghost." I said

Ghost stopped what he was doing and dropped the wires.

"Tem certeza?" I asked

"Sim! Sim! Ele é o único makarov odeia mais do que os americanos!" Rojas yelled

"Good. Carry on Ghost."

"Não! Não!"

Ghost turned on the car and floored the gas until Rojas was knocked unconscious. Once Rojas was put to sleep, Ghost turned off the car and walked back over to the rest of us.

"The only thing we got out of Rojas was that the only guy that Makarov hates more than Americans is locked up in a gulag." Ghost said

"It's all we got. If this con's the bait we need to catch this psychopath, then let's hang him from a tree." MacTavish said


	2. Hornets Nest

**Tracking… Found**

 **SSgt. Liz "Desert" Stratton**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Rio de Janeiro 1700 ft. A.S.L., Brazil**

 **A.N. Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. But between school, sports, and to be honest, finding the motivation to write this chapter, I just haven't really worked on it, and for that I'm sorry. But the new chapter is up, and I will try my best to update more frequently. So, if you have any questions, comments, or ideas to improve the story, please rate and comment. OPKILLERFROST out.**

It was kind of horrifying to see Roach interrogate Rojas like that. I mean, the bastard deserved it after what he did to Meat and Royce. I kept staring at Rojas' body just hanging there, unconscious, as if he was already dead.

"Sir, the militia's closing in; almost 200 of them front and back." Ghost said

"We're gonna have to fight our way to the LZ! Let's go!" MacTavish said

"What about Rojas?"

"The streets'll take care of him."

"Works for me."

"No they won't." I heard Roach mutter

I turned around and watched Roach pull out the Desert Eagle he got from Rojas' assistant, and shot Rojas in the head. I was horrified and glad that Roach did that. Rojas was a sadistic asshole who needed to die, but he deserved to die with some decency, not hanging from bars on a building after being electrocuted to near death.

"Nikolai! We're at the top level of the Favela surrounded by militia! Bring the chopper to the market, do you copy, over!" MacTavish said

"Ok my friend, I am on the way!" Nikolai said

I didn't know who this Nikolai guy was, and wasn't sure if I could trust him because of the fact that he was Russian. But if MacTavish could trust him, then so could I.

"Everyone get ready! Lock and load!" MacTavish yelled

"Let's do this!" Ghost said, a little over excited in my opinion

We all ran up a hill and were greeted by the militia in an opening, like a plaza of some kind. I saw a one story building with a brick wall crumbling to pieces around it. I ran straight to it, running over a broken section of the wall, and took cover on the other side of the building. I popped my head up and saw militia all over the place, taking cover in windows, behind walls, on the rooftops, they were everywhere.

"Tangos at the ground level, dead ahead!" Spirit yelled

"We've got to get to the helicopter! Head through the gate to the market! Move!" MacTavish said

I popped out of cover and aimed down the sights of my ACR, killing five militia efficiently before popping back into cover. I felt a spray against the wall on the other side. I popped back out and noticed a _very_ large propane tank on the roof of a three story building. I aimed down my sights and emptied my mag into it. A second after I ejected the mag, I saw a fireball rise up from the roof and watched as three members of the militia flew off the roof and landed on the ground with a sickening thud. I heard a loud rumbling coming from the gate, and when I looked up, I saw a Technical burst through the gate, gun blazing.

"Technical coming from the south!" Hazard yelled

I dropped behind the wall, just barely missing the bullets of the 50. Caliber machine gun mounted on the back of the pickup. The technical kept driving around the building I was taking cover by, and stopped on the other side. It kept firing at me and I was curled in a ball trying to make myself as small of a target as possible. I heard a burst of fire nearby, and the loud sounds of the 50. Cal stopped. I looked up and saw Roach looking down at me. He offered his hand to help me up, but before I could take it, Roach took a bullet to the shoulder.

"Roach!" I yelled

"I'm good!" He yelled back

"We got another technical!" Spirit yelled

I saw Roach pop up and hit the gunner in the head. He got out from behind cover and ran for the open gate at the other end of the plaza.

"Head through that gate! Keep pushing to the evac point!" MacTavish yelled

"Go go go!" Ghost yelled

We all shot the strangling militia on our way through the gate. The gate led into an alleyway with balconies lined up on both sides. Ahead of us, militia were running single file, down the street ahead of us. 'How stupid can these guys get?' I wondered

I took aim with my ACR and shot them all. One by one, they went tumbling down like dominoes. When I got to the bodies, I noticed one of the militia had been holding a sniper rifle. 'Mine now.' I turned to my right and found myself staring at, at least, a dozen of the militia wielding everything from Dragnovs to AK-47s. In that moment, I knew that I was about to be killed and there was absolutely nothing that I could do to stop it.

That's when I felt the air get knocked from my body and I felt a very heavy body on top of me. I turned my head and saw Roach was lying on top of me. He got up and offered me his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet.

"Thanks." I said

"Next time, I might not be there to help." He said

I looked around and saw a tin roof to my right and crawled on top of it. I took aim with the sniper and fired, taking down militia left and right. When the way looked relatively clear, I got down off the roof and started to move up. I took cover behind a burned out car and took out more militia that were in our way.

"Let's go, let's go! We've gotta push through these streets to the market! Watch for flanking routes!" MacTavish yelled

I went up an alley, and at the top was a building with militia shooting out the windows. I took cover behind a nearby fence; waited until I heard them stop to reload, then shot them down. I turned the corner and shot a hostile coming down a staircase. I ran up the staircase and killed two more tangoes that were on the other side of a room. I then shot a hostile that was taking cover behind a counter top. Bullets were whizzing by my head, soldiers and militia were shouting all around me, I loved it.

That was, until, I got hit in the face with the butt of an AK-47. I hit the ground and looked up to see a member of the militia wearing a beret and aviator sunglasses, and the business end of that AK aimed at my face. _Shit._ I thought. That's when a bullet went through his skull and he fell to the floor. I looked behind me and saw Roach.

"Is it just me, or am I always saving your life?" He asked me as he held out his hand

"I think it's _all_ in your head, Bug." I said

"Yeah, sure."

I couldn't tell because he was wearing a balaclava, but I could've sworn he was smiling. I didn't get to look long because a hailstorm of bullets flew over our heads, forcing us to duck for cover. I tried to guess where the bullets were coming from, but it was impossible to tell.

"Hey Roach, how much you want to bet that I'll end up saving your ass again?" I asked while I reloaded my ACR

"I'll bet a hundred." He said

"You're on."

"Roach! Lay down some fire on the intersection! Heads up! Alley on the left! Keep moving! We're almost at the market!" MacTavish yelled from down below

"Roger that!" Roach yelled back, suppressing the intersection allowing the rest of the squad to move up

By now, we were about half a klick away from the evac point. I looked to my twelve o'clock and found militia scrambling to take cover behind a picket fence in a grassy yard.

"Frag out!" Hazard yelled

The fragmentation grenade flew through the air and landed right next to a barrel full of gasoline. One member of the militia was right next to the grenade and noticed it a second before it went off, his eyes opening as far as they would go before getting seared off in the explosion directly afterward. The frag's explosion sent debris flying and hit one of the militia in the chest, killing him almost instantly.

"I got a technical!" Neon yelled

"Roger that." Spirit said, shooting the gunner off the back

"Squad! Spread out and cut through the market! Move!" MacTavish said as we finished off the last of the militia in the yard

"Tango coming out of the shack on the right!" Spirit yelled

I saw him and was about to take him down, but Hazard took him down first.

"There's Nikolai's Pave Low!" Hazard said

"Let's go! Nikolai! ETA 20 seconds! Be ready for immediate dustoff!" MacTavish said

"That may not be fast enough! I see more militia closing in on the market!" Nikolai said

"Pick up the pace! Let's go!"

We moved through what appeared to be someone's home, but was deserted in light of us shooting nearby.

"It's too hot! We will not survive this landing!" Nikolai yelled

"Nikolai wave off, wave off! We'll meet you at the secondary LZ instead! Go!"

"Very well, I will meet you there! Good luck!"

"We've got more militia closing in!" Hazard said

I grabbed some cover behind a brick wall and started to pick off the militia. Pretty quickly the area was cleared.

"Come on! We've got to get to the rooftops, this way!" MacTavish ordered "Let's go, let's go!"

We ran towards a makeshift wall made out of plywood and sheet metal, using it to boost us up onto the roofs of the favela.

"My friend, from up here, it looks like the whole village is trying to kill you!" Nikolai chuckled

"Tell me something I don't know! Just get ready to pick us up!" MacTavish yelled back, irritated

"We're running out of rooftop!" Neon yelled

"We can make it! Go go go!" Ghost yelled

I saw Nikolai's Pave Low, sitting on a roof across the alley in front of us. It was coming up fast, but I estimated it was about an eight foot jump with a ten foot drop. I just prayed I'd make it and launched off the roof and into the air. For a moment, a single moment, I seemed weightless. Then my fifty pounds of equipment and gravity decided to drag me down towards the rooftop below. I landed on the roof safe and sound, same as everyone else. Then I heard a scream. Roach had just launched off of the roof, but I could still see it; the blood spurt and clothing moving to show that Roach had just been shot. He still managed to push off of the roof, but not with enough force. He wasn't going to make it. Roach hit the edge of the roof, but he was slipping. MacTavish made a move to catch him, but I got there first. I slid to the edge of the roof, grabbing his arm before he could fall.

"What was that bet you made, Bug? A hundred bucks?" I asked

"Shut the fuck up and pull me up." He grunted

Then I felt something give. Now I was slipping off of the roof, about to join Roach on the ground twenty feet below. Suddenly, we stopped and I was being dragged back.

"I got ya." MacTavish said

I breathed out a sigh of relief and got up on the roof. I looked around at the surrounding buildings and grimaced. I couldn't wait to get out of this hell hole. I bent down, and helped Roach up, dragging him up to the helicopter.

"Where to my friend?" Nikolai asked

"Just get us to the sub." MacTavish sighed


	3. Whiskey Hotel

**Tracking… Found**

 **PFC. Ava Blackwood**

 **1** **st** **Bn., 75** **th** **Ranger Regiment**

 **Washington D.C., U.S.A.**

 **A.N.: Hey guys. Got another chapter here for you. I will not be posting chapters as frequently as these last two, but I will work harder on trying to update every other week, if not weekly. So please rate and review, OPKILLERFROST out.**

It was staggering; the size of the bunker was ginormous. I looked around, but all I could see was rubble. The rest of the squad and I walked through the bunker, finding pieces of the ceiling caved in. I could see what was once the presidential seal on the ceiling; the rest of it on the floor at our feet. It was depressing to know that our Commander-in-Chief was probably dead, dragged off somewhere, or buried underneath all of this rubble.

"Hustle up! Get to Whiskey Hotel! Move!" A Ranger at the end of the hallway yelled

 _Damn, where the fuck did he come from?_ I thought

We turned another corner, and found that the bunker had caved in, allowing access to the White House's South Lawn.

"Keep hitting 'em with the Two-Forty Bravos! Get more men moving on the left flank!" I could hear Colonel Marshall yell

"Sir, what's the situation here?" Foley asked

"You're lookin' at the 'high ground' Sergeant! There's still power in the White House! That means we still have a way to talk to Central Command if we can retake it! Now get your squad movin' up the left flank! Go!"

"Work your way to the left! Ramirez, let's go!"

I looked over at James. I couldn't see what his facial expression was because of the stupid balaclava and sunglasses he always wears. You can't even see the sun right now due to all the smoke, so how the hell is he able to see with sunglasses on? We started to move towards the West Wing, and the Oval Office. Ivan was pretty dug in on the roof, with .50 cals and searchlights.

"We need to punch through right here! Take out those machine guns!" Foley yelled

I took cover behind a crashed jet and fired on the machine gun nest above the Oval Office. I took out one, while Dunn took out the other. With the machine guns down, we moved up to the West Wing and entered the Oval Office.

" _This is Tojo 5-1 to any friendly units in D.C., Hammerdown is in effect. I repeat, Hammerdown is in effect. If you are receiving this transmission, you are in a hardened high-value structure. Deploy green flares on the roof of this structure to indicate that you are still combat effective. We will abort our mission on direct visual contact with this counter-sign._ "

I could hear the radio chatter coming from somewhere, but I couldn't tell where. It looked like Dunn was on to something, taking down a painting reveling a speaker.

"Dunn, get the door! Dunn!" Foley yelled

"Sarge, are you reading this?!" Dunn asked, sounding nervous

"That's why we gotta go! Now get the door!"

"Roger that!"

If what was playing over those speakers was what I thought it was, then we needed to haul ass to get to an evac point. Dunn walked over to the door and shot it open. Two Russians came running out of the press room to the left and started shooting. Between the four of us, they didn't stand a chance. We kept moving towards the press room, where we met more Russians. We shot them, never stopping along the way. We made it to the press corps offices, but there were too many cubicles.

"Ramirez, you and Blackwood flank around through the patio outside!" Foley yelled

Never stopping, Ramirez and I moved outside to dispatch the Russians outside. I was busy taking out Ivan on the ground floor that I didn't bother to look up to see if there was a threat above us. I felt wind rush past my arm and saw bullets streaking by, about to hit me. I dove to the side, taking cover from the machine gunners on the roof.

"Ramirez! Threat, twelve o'clock high!" I yelled

He didn't say anything to acknowledge that I had just said something; he just shifted fire from the foot mobiles on the ground to the soldiers above us. When the hailstorm of bullets had stopped, I could only assume that Ramirez had taken out the soldiers above. Foley and Dunn had taken out the rest of the enemies inside.

" _Two minutes to weapons release_." Tojo 5-1 broadcasted

"We got less than two minutes before they flatten the city! We gotta get to the roof and stop 'em!" Foley yelled

We moved through the press corps offices, where Foley kicked open the door to the kitchen. There weren't any Ivan inside, so we moved quickly through the room. On the other side, the ceiling had collapsed, allowing access to the second floor of the Residence.

" _Ninety seconds to weapons release_." Tojo 5-1 said

"90 seconds! We gotta push through!" Foley yelled

We pushed through the state floor, killing all opposition along the way.

"One minute to weapons release."

"One minute! Go go go!"

We finished off the remaining enemies and climbed the stairs to get to the roof.

"Thirty seconds to weapons release."

"Clear up! Let's go!" A Ranger yelled

"30 seconds! We gotta get to the roof now! Go! Go! Get to the roof! Move!" Foley said

"Standby. Target package Whiskey Hotel Zero-One has been authorized." Tojo 5-1 said

"Use your flares!" Foley yelled

Ramirez and I popped our flares, running through destroyed bedrooms until we came to part of Whiskey Hotel where the roof and wall were blown out. We were waving our flares frantically trying to get the fighter jets to notice that we were not to be fired upon.

"Countersign detected at Whiskey Hotel! Abort, abort!"

"We got a countersign, abort mission!"

The entire building shook as the two fighters flew over. Everybody sighed with relief that we had made it.

"So when are we goin' to Moscow?" Ramirez asked

"Not soon enough, man. But I know we're gonna burn it down when we get there." Dunn said

"When the time is right, Corporal. When the time is right." Foley sighed


	4. All's Well

**Tracking… Found**

 **Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Fire Base Phoenix, Afghanistan**

 **A.N: Hey guys, what's up? Got another chapter for you guys, and I hope that you'll like it. I know I skipped over a lot of missions in the game, but I tried to incorporate them in this chapter. I'll also try to include more of the Ranger's side of the story as they continue their struggle in the United States. So, please read, review, feel free to PM me, and if you have any ideas to improve the plot of the story, feel free to give me a suggestion. OPKILLERFROST out.**

I lay awake in my cot trying to fall asleep, but just couldn't. There had been too much that had gone on that week. Between nearly falling in Rio, to finding Price in that Gulag, there was too much on my mind. I started to replay the events of the Gulag over again in my mind.

" _Roach, Dessert, we're on cell duty! Let's go!" 'Tavish yelled_

 _We were moving through the floors of the Gulag, trying to find Prisoner 627. We finally reached the bottom floor, killing all of the guards in our way. Everything was a blur, between us moving from floor to floor within minutes. One moment we were stuck in the shitstorm in the armory the next we were moving through solitary confinement, then through the boiler room._

" _The old shower room's about thirty feet ahead on your left. You'll have to breach the wall to get in." Ghost said_

" _Roach- plant a breaching charge on the wall. We're takin' a shortcut." MacTavish relayed_

 _I remembered planting the breaching charge on the wall, the wall exploding, then nothing. The next thing I could remember was dropping down the hole on the other side of the room. We moved through the sewer, to a wall. My memory was better more towards this part._

" _I'm detecting two heat signatures- one of them should be Prisoner 627." Ghost said_

 _I planted a breaching charge on the wall. MacTavish and Worm stacked up opposite me with Dessert right behind me. The charge exploded, and everything seemed to go into slow motion. I saw a Russian guard, with the prisoner choking him from behind. Everything sped up, with the guard rushing at me. I was punched in the face by 627. I hit my head on the floor, closing my eyes in pain. When I opened them again, I had the business end of an AK-47 aimed in my face. My vision was still blurry, but it was quickly focusing on a familiar face._

" _Drop it!" MacTavish yelled, rushing over, putting an M1911 to 627's head_

" _Soap?" the Prisoner said_

 _Soap? I didn't know MacTavish had a codename. But why was it_ Soap _?_

" _Price?" MacTavish said_

That's _why the prisoner seemed familiar. It was Captain Price. I hadn't seen him since Operation Kingfish. He was captured by the Russians and that was the last we saw of him. I just didn't recognize Price because of the wild look in his eyes and a couple new scars on his face. MacTavish took the gun he was holding by the barrel and gave it to Price._

" _This belongs to you, sir." 'Tavish said_

" _Who's Soap?" Dessert asked_

 _The next second the whole Gulag shook from an explosion. Looks like the Navy jumped the gun again and was bombing the building. Fuckin' Yanks._

" _Come on, we gotta get outta here! Move! Move!" MacTavish yelled_

" _Bravo Six- be advised, they've started the bombardment early! Get the hell outta there now!" Shepard yelled through the comms_

' _Yeah tell me somethin' we don't know.' I thought_

 _Dessert and Worm helped me get up. I started seeing double, but my vision soon focused. I ran after the others to catch up. We started running through the tunnel system, trying to get to the nearest exit, which happened to be a hole at the end of the corridor. The Pave Low appeared at the opening, preparing for us to jump on and escape._

" _There's the chopper! Get ready to jump!" MacTavish yelled_

 _We continued running, but the explosions caused the roof to collapse in our path, forcing us to stop._

" _Go back! Go back! We'll find another way out! This way! This way!" MacTavish yelled_

 _We ran back the way we came, turning a right at a hallway about twenty meters down the hall from the room where we started. We kept moving along the hall until we reached a cafeteria. An undetonated bomb lay in the middle of the floor, undetonated. The bomb had created a hole in the ceiling going all the way to the roof._

" _It's a dead end!" Worm yelled_

 _I started walking around the room searching for an exit, listening to the traffic on the comms._

" _Six-Four, where the hell are you, over?" 'Tavish yelled into the comms_

" _Bravo Six, there's too much smoke, I can't see you!" The pilot yelled_

 _That was all I could hear before the roof above me collapsed and buried me._

" _Roach is down!" 'Tavish yelled_

" _Roach!" Dessert yelled fearfully_

 _I regained consciousness to Price and Dessert digging me out of the rubble. Price turned around to 'Tavish._

" _Whatever you're gonna do Soap, do it fast!" Price yelled_

' _Tavish aimed his gun upwards and fired a flare from his grenade launcher._

' _Should that have been even possible?' I thought 'Aw hell, what the hell do I care?'_

" _Bravo-Six, I see your flare. SPIE rig on the way." The pilot said_

" _Let's go! Let's go!" Price yelled as a rope dropped through the hole_

 _Dessert helped me up- for the second time, I though bitterly- then we ran over to the rope._

" _Hook up! Go! Go!" 'Tavish yelled_

" _Hang on!" Price yelled_

 _The rope was pulled up, 'Tavish going first, then Price, then Dessert, then me, with Worm below me. We were yanked up through the many levels of the Gulag right as the Navy decimated the building. The bomb below us went off, sending a fireball into the air, consuming Worm._

" _Worm!" I yelled_

 _That's when I blacked out attached to the rope._

That was two days ago. While I was passed out, everybody dragged me and Worm aboard the chopper, but he was already gone. The fire killed him. That was two days ago. Yesterday he was sent back home to the States with his belongings. His funeral is going to be in two weeks at Arlington.

I also thought back to the mission yesterday. We went to a sub base miles from the Gulag. We HALO jumped from a C-130 to the ground about a mile from the base.

 _I jumped, and free fell until I was about a hundred meters off the ground. I opened my parachute, but when I tried to steer it, it wouldn't open. I was just along for the ride, but I noticed that someone else was steering towards me._

' _At least I won't be alone trying to get to the sub-base.' I thought_

 _I landed on the ground, finding price soon after. We moved through the forest, until we regrouped with the rest of the team, and Dessert, at a small group of buildings right outside the base. We cleared out the surrounding hostiles, and then moved on to the sub-base, killing all hostiles in our path with both bullets and AGMs. We made it all the way through to the sub, where Price went inside while we covered him from a guard tower to the west. We were clearing out hostiles on the docks next to the sub when we noticed something._

" _Price, are you there? The silo doors are opening on the sub, I repeat, the silo doors are opening on the sub!" Ghost yelled to Price_

 _When Price didn't respond, I knew something was up. Either he'd been killed, taken hostage, or he was just unable to disable the sub._

" _Price, come in! They're opening the silo doors on the sub! Come on! Hurry!" Ghost continued to yell_

 _Price still didn't respond. 'Come on old man, hurry.' I thought_

" _Price, do you copy?! The silo doors are open! I repeat, the silo doors are open!" Ghost was practically screaming_

" _Good." Price simply said_

 _The entire building shook as a single nuclear ICBM was launched. 'What the hell did you do, Price?" I thought_

" _What? Wait - wait, Price, no! We have a nuclear missile launch. Missile in the air! Missile in the air! Code Black, Code Black!" Ghost screeched into the comms_

Price had launched a nuclear missile, which at the time made him look like he had lost his god damned mind. Only later did we learn the missile was detonated above the eastern coast of the United States, where the Russians were invading. After that, everybody thought that Price was a hero, except for Ghost. He was still holding a grudge on Price for not telling everybody the intent of the mission. We all thought that Price was going in the sub to disarm the damned thing.

'I'm not going to get any sleep tonight, might as well do something productive.' I thought

My first thought was to head over to the gym. I grabbed my water bottle, iPod, and a towel and walked across the base from the barracks to the large building containing the gym. I looked at the row and weight machines and was trying to decide which one I was going to work on first. I eventually decided on Seated Rows. I took out my iPod and turned on some music. 'Till I Collapse by Eminem flooded my ears as I set the machine to 170 lbs. and started my workout.

 _Sometimes you just feel tired,_

 _You feel weak._

 _But you gotta search within you,_

 _Gotta find that inner strength and just pull that shit outta you,_

 _And get that motivation,_

 _To not be a quitter no matter how bad you just wanna fall flat on your face._

' _Till I Collapse, I'm spillin' these raps as long as you feel 'em._

' _Till the day that I drop,_

 _You'll never say that I'm not killin' 'em._

' _Cause when I'm not,_

 _Then I'mma stop pinnin' 'em._

 _And I am hip hop,_

 _And I'm just not Eminem._

 _Subliminal thoughts,_

 _When I'mma stop sinnin'_

 _Women are caught in the webs spin 'em and hock venom_

 _Adrenaline shots of penicillin could not get the illin' to stop_

 _Amoxicillin's just not real enough._

 _To cop millions of listeners,_

 _You're comin' with me, feel it or not_

 _You're gonna fear it like I showed ya the spirit of God lives in us_

 _You hear it a lot,_

 _Lyrics to shock,_

 _Is it a miracle,_

 _Or am I just a product of pop fizzin' up?_

 _Fa shizzle my wizzle,_

 _This is the plot listen up,_

 _You bizzles forgot,_

 _Slizzle does not give a fuck!_

' _Till the roof comes off,_

' _Till the lights go out,_

' _Till my legs give out can't shut my mouth_

' _Till the smoke clears out_

 _Am I high,_

 _Perhaps,_

 _I'mma rip this shit,_

' _Till my bone collapse._

"I didn't know that you listened to Eminem." Someone said behind me

I was in the middle of a rep, so I let go of the handle, causing the weights to drop down with a loud bang. I turned around and Liz was standing there.

"What the _hell_ are you doin'?" I asked

"I'm about to work out." She said

"And you have to scare the shit out of me in the process?"

"No, that's just an added bonus."

I gave her my best 'I hate you so much right now' look and turned back around to continue working out.

"You never did answer me." She said

"Answer what?" I asked

"I said I didn't know you listened to Eminem."

"Normally I don't, but this is a good workout song."

"Oh."

"Why are you up?" I asked

"Couldn't sleep. You?"

"Neither could I."

"Why?"

"Too much on my mind. Especially the Gulag."

"Same."

I stopped using the machine and got up. I walked over to the pull up bar and started the exercise

"Why was the Gulag on your mind?" I asked in between pull ups

"Well between getting Price back, nearly dying because of the Navy, and watching you get buried, it wasn't a fun experience for me."

"Why would me being buried keep you awake at night?"

"Because I care about you, Bug"

Once again, I stopped what I was doing, and looked at her. She wasn't even working out. She was just sitting on one of the benches looking at me. I walked over to her and sat on the bench opposite. I didn't say anything, hoping that she would continue the conversation on her own; and continue it she did.

"I've always cared about you like a friend, but ever since we left Rio, I've just started to care about you more than if you were just a friend."

I just looked at her, not knowing what to say. From what she was saying, and what I could piece together in my idiot of a brain, it sounded to me like she started to want to be more than just friends. But I'm a guy, so I couldn't understand completely without looking into her brain.

"What are you saying?" I asked

"I'm saying that I think I'm starting to fall in love with you."


	5. That Ends Well

**Tracking… Found**

 **SSgt. Liz "Desert" Stratton**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Fire Base Phoenix, Afghanistan**

 **A.N: Hey, guys. I'll start off right off the bat with saying I'm sorry because I've just realized that I've been spelling Desert's name wrong. So again, I apologize. This was a kind of difficult chapter to write because I was trying to make it have an outcome most people would like, while at the same time trying not to make it sound too cliché. So, I hope that you guys enjoy it, and please review, PM, whatever you want. OPKILLERFROST out.**

"I'm saying that I think I'm starting to fall in love with you." I said

Roach just kept looking at me with an unreadable expression.

'Oh fuck. Now I've just gone ahead and ruined our friendship.' I thought

I started worrying in my head thinking that he wasn't going to say 'I love you too' back to me. I didn't even have to say that. I could've just made up some kind of excuse that didn't involve how I really felt for him.

"What do you mean? Like as a friend or, something more?" He simply asked me

'Oh my god Roach, can you be more clueless?' I wondered

One moment I'm telling him I love him the next he's questioning it. What the hell?

"It used to be as a friend, but recently it's started to grow into something more."

He continued to sit there as if he was deep in thought. I would kill right now to see what was going through his head.

 **Roach's POV**

'Now how the hell am I going to tell her that I'm starting to feel the same way?'

I don't think that I can straight up say 'I think I love you too' because then she might think I'm just saying that. I was clueless and awkward and fuck. I can't break her heart, but I don't know how the hell to do this. Fuck it. I'm just going to wing it.

"Look, Liz I-" I started to say

"Let me guess, you don't feel the same way, right?"

"No, it's not that. I do feel the same way, it's just that- fuck this is awkward."

"Wait, you really do?"

"Well, yeah."

She just started blushing and giving a bashful grin. Right then and there, she was beautiful. She didn't need any special make up or clothes to make her look that way, she was just naturally beautiful. I could look at her forever and never get bored. I loved the way that she blushed whenever she caught me looking at her, the way she'd smile when I said something funny, how she was sarcastic all the time. I loved her dark red hair, her royal blue eyes, the freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks. I realized that in that moment, I wasn't still falling in love with her, but that had already happened a long time ago.

 **Desert's POV**

He said that he felt the same way. That was all I cared about. It was just me and Roach alone in the gym and I couldn't be happier. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Roach staring at me. So it wasn't just my imagination. He actually thought more of me then just a friend.

"I've just got one question though." He said smiling

"What's that?"

"How the bloody hell did you fall for an ugly bastard like me?"

"Ugly?" I laughed

"What's so funny?" He asked genuinely curious.

Oh. He was serious. How could he not see how hot he was? He had lovely reddish blonde hair and beautiful gray eyes. He had a scar along is upper lip, that made him look even more badass and cute.

"You are _far_ from ugly Roach."

"Okay." He raised his hands in surrender "I'm not going to argue with you. I know that I also said that I only had one question, but I have another one."

"Fire away."

"Are we, like dating now?"

"Well I don't see how we can go out on dates in the middle of a war, but you can call me your girlfriend. If you want."

"Deal."

I just smiled stupidly. I finally got the guy. It's about damn time too.

I saw Roach look down at his watch, eyes widening.

"We should probably get to bed. Ghost wants us up for training in the morning." He said

"Okay."

We both got up, walking towards the exit side by side. I looked up at Roach and caught him looking at me.

"Why are you staring at me?" I asked

"Because you're beautiful." He replied

I smiled. I wasn't going to say anything, but I caught that Fault in Our Stars reference. We continued back to the barracks, joking and laughing along the way. When we made it to my room, we stood outside.

"Well, this is my stop." I said

"So it is." He said

"I guess I'll see you at breakfast in the morning?" I said

"Definitely."

"Well, goodnight." I said

"What? No kiss? Hug? Something?" He said laughing

"Well, if you insist." I said joking

He continued laughing, wrapping his arms around me. I put my head against his chest and heard his heartbeat. It was steadily getting faster. I looked up at him and him down at me. We just stood there for a moment; me looking into his grey eyes and him looking into my blue ones. Then he leaned down and kissed me. I kissed him back immediately. I could've stayed there in that moment forever, but like all good things, it came to an end.

"I'll see you tomorrow, love." He said

"I don't know if I can wait that long." I said

He laughed and released me from his embrace.

"Well, I think you're going to want your sleep."

I grumbled and complained, but I knew he was right. I could've stayed there and argued some more about how I could stay up with him, but in the end, I knew I would lose.

"Goodnight, Bug."

"Goodnight." He said with that gorgeous smile of his

I laughed and went back into the room I shared with Hazard. I quietly walked over to my cot so I didn't wake her up.

"About damn time. I thought you two would never shut up with that lovey dovey shit." She said, eyes still closed

"What the hell Lily? I thought that you were asleep." I said

"How can I sleep with you two on the other side of the door?"

"Oh shut up. You know if you could, you'd do the same thing with Ghost."

That shut her up real quick. She wouldn't admit it to anyone but Neon, but she had a crush on Ghost pretty much since the two met.

"I would not." She said quietly

"Whatever."

I got dressed in a tank top and shorts, then got in my cot and went to bed dreaming of Roaches and kisses.

"I'm saying that I think I'm starting to fall in love with you."

 **A.N.: I was originally going to post this chapter tomorrow, but I was feeling generous, so here you guys go, I hope you guys enjoyed it. For this chapter, I used the song Cinema by Benny Benassi for help with Roach's thoughts on Desert. So, please rate, review, PM, whatever you wish. OPKILLERFROST out.**


	6. Memories

**A.N.: Hey guys! This is going to be mostly a filler chapter, so I can figure out more how I want "Loose Ends" to come out. Hope you guys enjoy. So, enjoy and please Review, PM, whatever you wish. I could really use some ideas for the next chapter.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Lt. Simon "Ghost" Riley**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Fire Base Phoenix, Afghanistan**

 _ **One Year Ago**_

 _I looked down on the man in front of me. He was a fat slob who had caused nothing but pain and misery since I'd known him. He tortured me, tried to kill me, brainwashed my friends, had them kill my family, force my hand into killing them. This man deserved nothing more than to die a horrible death._

" _What do you want from me, Mister Death?" Roba asked_

" _Just your blood. Your man Gilberto told me about the mainframe. I already got everything I need." I said "By the way, Sparks and Washington are dead. Your brainwashing techniques seem to end up with a lot more bodies than minds."_

 _The fat fuck just kept lying on the floor, laughing. "Never be afraid to try something new, eh Mister Death? Like getting into business with the terrorists; they said it was like playing with fire; El Gordo is not stupid, and the U.S. is my meal ticket, after all. But Uncle Sam makes speeches, he sends soldiers to kill El Gordo. They try and kill Castro too, he get Mister Kennedy back good."_

 _Manuel pulled a 44. Magnum and leveled it at me. I took the knife in my hand and launched it with deadly accuracy into his arm, causing him to drop the gun and scream in pain. The fat sack of shit got up and ran away, the coward. He fled to his bedroom, me right behind him drawing my two M9s. I stop just outside the doorway, looking for something to distract him. I scan my surroundings and find a vase, inside are ashes. I throw the vase into the room, shooting it, causing the ashes to spill everywhere, sending a dust cloud up. I dive into the room, shooting at Roba. As usual, the bastard is pulling a runner. I watched him jump outside onto the ground below, and start running. Before he gets too far, I put a single 9 millimeter round into his right lung. I jumped down and walked over to the man, bleeding and helpless._

" _When I was six, I watched my mother and father get gunned down in the market by some stupid culos. Just crossfire; it was nothing, a joke, a whim. I understood; I see the big picture. I look around and I say 'The world is full of people; billions of people. We live, we die. What does it matter, a few people? It's not like there's a shortage.'" Roba chuckled to himself "In the end, I am just one man."_

" _One man who needs to go." I said_

 _I leveled one of the M9s at Roba's head and pulled the trigger. In an instant, the man had gone from rambling, to looking at me with cold, lifeless eyes and a bullet in his head._

 _ **Present Day**_

I shot up in bed, sweat covering my body. I look around, searching for Roba, expecting him to be there when I wake up.

"It's was just a dream, Riley. It was just a dream." I said quietly to myself

I took a minute to calm down before double checking the room to make sure there was no danger. Even though I could barely see a bloody thing, I could still only sense the presence of Roach's sleeping form in the bunk on the wall adjacent to mine. I still couldn't get over the fact that the anniversary of my family and Roba's death was today. It seems so long ago, not just a year. Still trying to catch my breath, I get up and walk outside.

 _I need air._ I thought desperately

I felt like I was being smothered inside, like I couldn't get an ounce of air into my lungs until I made it outside to the stars and the night air. Even though I was feet away from the door, it seemed like miles to me. I tried to suck in a breath, but it felt as if someone had stolen the lungs right from my chest. I finally made it, after what seemed like an eternity in hell, and burst through the door, sucking in air until my lungs couldn't contain anymore.

 _You're okay Riley, you're okay. It was just a dream. Roba is dead. He can't hurt you anymore._

I was still struggling to take a breath as the thought of Roba was haunting me. I felt as if the bullet I put in his brain didn't kill him. He's been alive this past year, plotting his revenge.

 _No, Simon. He's dead. You've got to pull yourself together, man._

I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep with images of Roba and my family in my head. My hands still shaking, I walked over to the rec room, hoping that nobody would be in there. I pulled open the door and walked in.

 _Fuuuuuck._

Hazard was sitting on the couch, watching whatever channels we could get out here. Maybe, I might be able to sneak out. It doesn't seem as though she heard me. Then that's when she decided to turn around.

 _Double Fuuuuuck._

"Ghost? What are you doing up?" She asked, standing up

"I could ask you the same thing." I said, trying desperately to avoid thinking more about that horrible night

"Couldn't sleep."

"Me neither."

She gave me a suspicious look like she didn't believe me completely, but she didn't say anything else. She turned back around and sat down. She had her laptop sitting on the cushion next to her and the TV was on some music channel. I recognized the band that was playing as Slipknot.

"I didn't know you listened to that type of music." I said

"Hardly anyone does."

I sat down on the couch and looked over to see what she was doing on her laptop. It showed that the nook app was open.

"What ya readin'?" I asked

"Wow, Ghost, are you being nosy for once?" she said with mock surprise on her face

"Don't get used to it. I'm only like this late at night."

She just looked at me like she was trying to figure something out about me. It was creepy the way she did it.

"Why do you always wear that mask?" She finally asked me

I felt like someone punched me in the gut. After all I was trying to avoid thinking about them; they just kept coming back up. I talked about one thing, and they pop up in my head. I talk about another, but that turns into thoughts about my family.

"My brother always wore a skull mask to try and scare me." I said quietly

She looked at me like she didn't understand. Nobody would. Nobody except for Shepard and MacTavish knew that I had lost my family.

"My brother's dead." I said tearing up

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm sorry. I'm the reason that they're all dead."

"Ghost, you can't blame yourself. I'm sure there was nothing you could've done to stop it."

"But there was."

"Ghost…"

"No. There was. I had been captured by a drug lord last year, Manuel Roba. Bastard tortured me, and tried to brainwash me, but I didn't allow it. So he buried me in a coffin with the body of my CO. I had to dig my way out with his jaw bone and it took me months to recover. That's when I met up with two other guys who were captured with me, Sparks and Washington. They… They fell for Roba's brainwashing. We got in a disagreement. They…" I couldn't finish the sentence. It was like rubbing salt in an old wound

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She said

No. I started telling what happened to them, I'm not going to not finish.

"They killed them. My father was in the hospital at the time, so he lived, but everyone else was killed, all slaughtered. And on Christmas no less. I went to see my father shortly afterward, but after I left the hospital, I could hear the gunshot telling me he died."

Lily just looked at me with a look of sympathy like I was a kicked puppy. I hated that. I hated how people looked at me like that if they found out about my backstory.

"I had no idea, Ghost. I'm so sorry."

I couldn't take it anymore. I finally just broke. The tears started to fall and I couldn't stop it. I quickly got up and left. I didn't know where I was going; I only knew that I needed to get away from anyone and anything. I ended up running off into the Pit. I was sitting in one of the corners on the roof of the building. I was just praying that nobody would find me up here. I must've sat there for hours, but I couldn't tell. Time seemed irrelevant. It could've been mere seconds, to minutes, to hours, and I would've been none the wiser. Eventually, I fell asleep sitting there, I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't find the will to get up and go to bed.

I awoke to the sound of the targets popping up. I looked up to see someone aiming their gun towards the targets scattered across the roof. 'How the hell didn't I hear them firing through the rest of the course?' I heard the gun fire off, and I realized they were using a suppressed weapon. Before I could react, they aimed their gun at me. Well, not at me, but the target two feet to my right. Time slowed down as the gun was fired, and the bullet ricocheted of the target, finding a home in my stomach.

 **A.N. Sorry this chapter was kind of short, but I'm starting to run out of ideas to keep the story going. So, please, review or PM me any thoughts or ideas you have that can improve the story.**


	7. Requiem

**A.N. Hey guys. This is going to be one of about 2-3 more chapters before 'Loose Ends'. I could really use ideas for that chapter, because at this rate, it's going to turn out like most of the situations I've read, and I want to do something that's more original. So, with that in mind, I'll let you guys get to reading. And again, please review or PM me any ideas or opinions you have about the story. Also, I'm going to try something new. A Question of the Chapter. It'll be at the end of every chapter so that nothing is spoiled, but feel free to answer with a review.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **PFC. Ava Blackwood**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Firebase Phoenix, Afghanistan**

I didn't see him until I heard the scream of pain. One moment, I'm running the course, the next, there's a man in the corner getting shot.

"Bloody hell." He said, looking down at his torso

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" I asked

That was stupid. The man had just been shot; of course he wasn't okay.

"What the bloody hell do you think?" He asked

"What the hell are you doing up here?" I said

He didn't answer; he had fallen unconscious. He didn't have a plate carrier on, so I couldn't drag him out of here, so I'd just have to try and pick him up. I dropped my gun, and knelt down next to him, placing one of his arms over my shoulder. 'It's just like pushing up from a squat, except for the fact that he probably weighs more than you've ever squatted in your life.' I pushed up from the ground, my legs unsteady from all the extra weight. I carefully walked over to the stairs, and begun going down them when I saw my new CO, Captain MacTavish appear at the bottom.

"What the bloody hell happened?" He yelled, rushing forward, taking him from me

"I- He- The bullet-" I stuttered

"Spit it out, Blackwood." He ordered

I don't think I've been more scared in my life. I had just shot a man, and I now I had a very angry officer yelling at me with a murderous look in his eyes

"He was just sitting there in the corner. One moment he wasn't there, the next he was." I said

He just kept giving me that death glare, and it made me fear for my life. I had no doubt this man would make my life a living hell because of what I've done. We walked back through the starting gate, causing shouts to erupt from some of the senior men of the Task Force. I just stood back, unable to stop shaking. I mean, I'd shot men before, but just the thought of me shooting a teammate, possibly killing him, that I couldn't live with. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice Dunn until his hand was on my shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked

"No." I said quietly

"What happened? What the hell was he doing out there?"

"I don't know. He was just wasn't there one moment and then it was like he materialized out of thin air."

"Ava. You're not making sense. What the hell are you talking about?"

"I think I just killed one of our new teammates."

 **5 Minutes Earlier**

 **MacTavish's POV**

Shepard was going to be a bastard again. He never stuck around when there were new recruits. He always came in with them on the chopper, dropped them with me and left. Usually Ghost was here with me, but nobody had been able to find him all morning. Strange. Ghost usually found it fun to scare the shit out of the newbies. All the same, five soldiers came out of the CH-47 Chinook. All of them were wearing U.S. Army fatigues.

"Captain MacTavish. Let me introduce you to Hunter 2-1. This squad is single-handedly responsible for saving the White House during the Russian invasion this week." Shepard said

Well that saves me from asking them what got Shepard's attention. Figures that he would go after them. He searched for the men that were the most battle-hardened, toughest sons of bitches out there.

"I have other matters to attend to. I trust you'll get them situated, Captain?"

"Yes, sir." I said

With that, the General turned and got back onto the chopper. I watched as it took off, moving in the opposite direction of the hot Afghan sun. After the chopper had faded from my eyesight, I took a look at the new FNGs. I remembered seeing a couple of them around the base. We didn't own the base; we shared it with other U.S. Military units.

"Welcome to the 141. We're the best handpicked group of soldiers on the planet. If you are here, you're here for a reason, so show it. You are here because you are the best of the best. This is an honor; you don't get in here for just anything. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, so treat it like one." I said

I was lost mostly because Ghost wasn't here. Usually he would've taken over by now, yelling at them that the 141 was the most elite outfit in the universe. We didn't have time for slackers. I figured I'd go easy on them. The Rangers lost a lot of men in the siege of the U.S.

"Thank you, sir. When do we meet the rest of the team?" one of them asked

He had a Southern U.S. accent, and had a corporal's badge on his sleeve.

"Later." I said. Then I thought of something Shepard had told me. "Private Allen had said the same thing."

"What?" this time it was the girl "I thought that Allen was being moved up to the ranks of Delta, not here. Where is he?"

Damn. She apparently not familiar with the word _formalities._

"Arlington."

"He's dead?" their former CO asked

"Aye. Killed by Makarov."

They all looked devastated except for the one in the back of the group. He must've been Allen's replacement after coming here.

"Let's get to the Pit. Time to see what you're made of."

We made the short walk from the helipad to the Pit and got situated. Price and Spirit were there waiting for us. Price looked at them the way he looked at me when he first laid eyes on me. Arms crossed across his chest, wearing his signature boonie hat. I knew this process all too well.

"Soap, I trust that you've already briefed them about what it means to be in the 141?" Price asked

"Yes, sir. Men," I said, then I eyed the girl "and woman, meet Captain Price. Although I'm field commander and we're equal rank, he is to be seen as a higher up than me. Never contradict anything that he says, never question an order. Understood?"

A chorus of 'Yes sir's went up from everybody.

"Now, introduce yourselves. Name, rank, and specialty." Price said

They all went around. Sergeant Foley, who was well-rounded. Cpl. Dunn, who was a medic. Pvt. James Ramirez, Demo Expert. Finally, Ava Blackwood, CQC. I think that Foley was going to be my favorite of the bunch. He seems that he can be serious enough when he needs to be, but can joke around when he wants.

"Alright, Blackwood, since you're CQC, you'll go first. The targets will pop once you're inside the gate. Make every second count. Ghost holds the record at 18.28 seconds." I said

I headed up to observation, where I had a bird's eye view of the course. Normally, I'd just watch their progress through the cameras, but they were down for maintenance. She walked over to the starting gate with an MP5, and an M9. _Let's see how this goes._ I hit the button for the gate to open. She walked through, tripping the motion sensor, causing the targets to pop up. She hit them all with quick precision. _Gotta hand it to her. She knows how to take out hostiles quickly and efficiently. The only question is, how will she perform when its live combat and the targets will shoot back?_ She made her way into the building, and that's where I lost sight of her. I watched the roof, and saw that one target went down, then another, but then the gunfire stopped. _What the hell is she doing up there?_ Annoyed, I left observation, and went out onto the course. Probably not the best idea on my part, but I didn't hear any bullets flying and I hadn't for the past minute and a half. I walked into the building, and turned to the stairs when I saw Ghost on her shoulders, bleeding.

""What the bloody hell happened?" I yelled, rushing forward, taking him from her

"I- He- The bullet-" She stuttered

"Spit it out, Blackwood." I ordered her, anger showing in my words

I looked her in the eyes and I don't think I've ever seen anyone more scared in their life. And she should have every right to be scared, if not downright terrified. She just shot my best friend and one of the only people I confide in.

"He was just sitting there in the corner. One moment he wasn't there, the next he was." She said

I thought that was a load of bullshit, but I'd find out what the hell happened later when everything calmed down. Right now, my only thoughts were to get Ghost to the infirmary as fast as possible.

"Move! Get out of the way!" I yelled

Everybody turned towards me, eyes growing wide at the sight before them. One moment, the FNGs were laughing and smiling, the next they looked fearful and confused. The members of the Task Force that were there that had introduced themselves started shouting, asking questions. I saw their lips moving but all I heard was gibberish. I was moving as fast as I could, but I was scared that it wasn't fast enough. From the looks of it, he'd already lost a lot of blood. _Just hang in there Ghost._ I burst through the doors to the infirmary, all but throwing Ghost down onto a gurney. Oz, the team medic ran over to us.

"What the hell happened?" He yelled

"Accident in the Pit." I said breathlessly. His blood had soaked my entire shirt.

"We need to get him to the OR." Oz said "MacTavish, I need your help. Push the gurney to the OR while I keep applying pressure to this wound."

Barely able to form a coherent thought, I moved over to the end of the gurney and pushed them all the way down to the OR. Once Ghost was inside, they made me stay in the waiting room. I waited for six agonizing hours, waiting to see if Oz could work his magic and save Ghost. I had just started to believe that I had failed; that I had gotten here too late. That's when Oz came through the doors. He was still wearing his scrub cap from surgery, but other than that, he looked like ordinary old Oz.

"How is he?" I asked

"He's going to make a full recovery, but it's going to take a little while. The bullet went through his small intestine and lodged itself into his internal oblique muscle." He said

"How long will he be out of it?"

"About a week and a half to two weeks."

"With how serious the injury was?" 

"It was minor damage. All just barley clipped pieces of the intestine. The only problem will be rebuilding the muscle tissue lost."

"Thanks, doc."

Feeling like an enormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I walked out of the infirmary and over to the mess hall. By now, it was dinner time, and I was starving. Plus, Taco was making his famous tacos. **[If you couldn't guess already, that's how he got his callsign.]** When I walked into the mess hall, it was solemn and quiet. Everybody perked up at the sight of me.

"Any news on Ghost?" Hazard asked

"He'll make a full recovery in a couple weeks." I said

Relief was visible on many faces, especially on the face of Blackwood. Her entire composure had changed from this morning when she got off the chopper. Then, she had been laid back and easygoing. Now, she looked wound up and uptight.

"Blackwood, a word." I said

She looked at me and gave me a small nod. As she got up, Dunn gave her a pat on the back. _I wonder if there's something going on between them._ Ah, I had other things to worry about right now. Like how the hell Blackwood would explain herself. We stepped outside and I could feel my anger from earlier begin to seep its way into my veins like a venom that could never be removed.

"What the bloody hell happened out there? And I don't want the same excuse as earlier. Tell me everything that happened when you got onto that rooftop."

"O- Okay." She swallowed "I had just knifed the target at the top of the stairs, so I continued onto the roof. I aimed down my sights at the targets that were to my front, and fired two bullets, taking them both out. Then I aimed at the target in the corner next to the targets I'd just dealt with, and fired a single bullet. That's when I noticed that somebody was up there. All I saw was the spark of the bullet hitting the target, and the blood splatter as it ricocheted of the target and hit him in the abdomen."

I listened to her story and tried to piece it together. It did seem likely. If she had hit it at just the right angle, which she obviously did, the bullet could've bounced off the target and hit Ghost.

"You're lucky I'm not punishing you for this. If this ever happens again, and I mean _ever_ , you will be kicked off of this Task Force. Are we clear?" 

"C-C-C-Crystal, s-sir." She said, visibly shaking

"As you were, Private."

She quickly turned and went back inside. I walked back in just as she was sitting down next to Dunn, hands covering her face. I almost felt sorry for the lass. Almost.

 **Hazard's POV**

After I heard that Ghost was going to make it, it felt like I had let out a breath I'd been holding in all day. If only I had gone after him last night. If I had, he might not have been in the Pit this morning, and he may not have gotten shot. I couldn't help but feel that it was my fault that he had gotten injured. After I had finished eating, I went over to the infirmary to see him. I walked over to the small building, hoping that Ghost was awake so that I could talk to him. When I walked in, I saw Oz doing paperwork at the counter.

"Hey, Hazard. What can I do for you?" He asked

"Is Ghost awake?" I asked

"No, I'm afraid not. I don't think he's going to wake up until tomorrow. You can still go in and see him though."

"Thanks Oz."

"Third door on your left." He called after me

I didn't know how I felt about being in the same room as Ghost when he wasn't awake and able to talk. It just felt weird, like an invasion of privacy. But I went in anyways, because I felt like I needed to see him. The first thing I noticed about him was how pale he looked. For some reason, Oz had left his mask on, but it was pulled up so Ghost could breathe better. His glasses were on the side table next to his bed. He had a light stubble, but it stood out so much on his skin. I could barely stand the sight of him like this. _Why do you care so much that he's like this? You don't have feelings for him._ Or do I? I'm so confused right now. On one side, it seems like I care for Ghost so much, but then there's the professional side of me that tells me that you can't date him, he's your superior. But then again, Roach and Desert recently became an item and she outranks him. Then I made the mistake of looking down at his torso. It was wrapped in bandages, with one bloody spot right around his upper abdominals. Just the sight of it made me tear up. I took his hand and a seat next to him. I couldn't stand the sight of people I cared about be in pain. This felt like Percy all over again- No. Lily, you told yourself you would get over that. Ghost isn't Percy. He's a hard bastard. He'll make it.

"What are you doin' here?" I heard

My head perked up at the sound of that Cockney accent. For the first time, I had seen Ghost's eyes. My God. They were probably the most beautiful eyes ever. They were like a kaleidoscope. They were mostly blue, with hints of green and flecks of brown. They just made me want to sit there and stare at them all day long.

"Visiting you." I said

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to see you and see how you were feeling."

"Well right now, I'm hopped up on enough painkillers that I barely feel anything so there's that."

"Yeah." I said, looking down and letting go of his hand

"What's wrong?"

"I guess- I guess that I feel kind of responsible for you getting hurt. If I had gone after you last night, you wouldn't have been in the Pit this morning, and you wouldn't have gotten shot."

"Hey, don't blame yourself. It was my stupid fault. I could've gotten up and left the Pit, but I didn't. I decided to fall asleep because I didn't care about what would've happened. Whether I got shot or not, it wouldn't make a difference. Nobody would've missed me."

"I would've. So would MacTavish. He didn't leave the waiting room until he knew you were out of surgery. He wouldn't leave. We tried to get him food, sleep, but he wouldn't move. Not until he knew that you had survived and that you were going to be okay. Ghost, you think that you are worthless, that nobody would bat an eye if you ceased to exist in this world. It would kill me if I knew that you had died. You are the one person that I have allowed myself to care about in a long time. If you had died, I don't know what I would've done. I didn't want a repeat of…" I stopped myself because the memory was too painful

"Didn't want a repeat of what?"

"My best friend in the whole world, Percy, died last year in Iraq. We were part of a QRF extracting a friendly squad that had been pinned down by Taliban Insurgents. We got there, and we went to work. We cleared out the hostiles fairly quickly, so we started to load up. Percy held the door open for me so I could get in. I was about ten feet from the Humvee when a RPG was fired from a rooftop. It spiraled right into the hood of the truck, killing my CO and squad that were inside. Percy and I had been thrown from the blast. I walked away from it virtually unscathed, but Percy, he hadn't been so lucky. The blast had blown off his lower right arm and leg."

I had to pause because it was like I was reliving that day. I could still smell the burning metal and bodies of the men inside the Humvee, the charred remains of Percy's body. I could still feel the soot and dirt that had settled on my face. I felt my sweat and tears mix with the dirt on my face as the person that I loved most in the world lay dying feet away from me and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

"Lily?" It was Ghost's voice that brought me back to reality

I wasn't in Iraq. I was in Afghanistan, sitting next to Ghost in the infirmary.

"Sorry. It's just that, it still feels so fresh. I still remember the smell, what it was like to feel his body in my arms, the stinging of dirt and sweat in my eyes. It just feels like it was yesterday."

"Don't be sorry. What happened to him?"

"I crawled to him after the explosion and held him in my arms as the life drained out of him like a broken dam. It was the worst feeling in the world, having the person that means the world to you die in your arms, and you're powerless to control it."

"I'm sorry. I know what that feeling's like all too well."

"We're both broken inside aren't we?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing that won't heal over time."

"But isn't the pain so strong that you just want to give up sometimes?"

"Yeah. Especially at first. When I found my family dead, there was hardly anything stopping me from shoving a bullet down my throat. But sometimes when the pain is strong, I remember one of my favorite lyrics. 'I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all.' I'd rather feel pain because it shows that there's still humanity left inside me. If I didn't feel pain, then I would know that there's nothing to live for."

"Three Days Grace. They really have some good songs for dealing with this stuff, huh?"

"Breaking Benjamin too."

"Yeah." I said smiling "It's funny, I was just feeling extremely depressed, but now I can't help but feeling an insurmountable amount of happiness."

"It's because you've been spending time with me." Ghost said, matter-of-factly

"Suuuuure. All you."

"Of course. Don't you believe me?" He asked, faking mock surprise

"Noooooo. Of course I believe you Ghost. Totally." My voice was dripping with sarcasm

"Ah. Whatever. You know I'm right."

"Yeah probably."

I looked at him with a thoughtful glare, and I could tell that he was confused as to what I was thinking. Without saying a word, I just leaned in kissed him on the lips. At first he was surprised and did nothing, but then he melted into the kiss and kissed back. Eventually, we had to come up for air, so we pulled apart. After that, I got up and started walking out.

"See you later Ghost." I said seductively

I could tell that that sentence was going to drive him crazy all day long. But at this point, I really didn't care.

 **QoC: If there were two people in this story you would like to see together, who would it be?**


	8. Rapture

**A.N. Hey guys. I'm back yet again with a new chapter for you. In this chapter, I've worked on furthering Hazard and Ghost's relationship. The next chapter will probably be the last one before 'Loose Ends'. Yes, I know that I've been saying that it's coming up for a while, but I think I've finally figured out how it's going to play out, and I hope you'll like it. So review or PM if you have some ideas that can make the story better. OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Lt. Simon "Ghost" Riley**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Firebase Phoenix, Afghanistan**

Being in the infirmary didn't seem to be as bad as usual. Yet again, I didn't have Lily come in and visit me every free moment she could in the past. I don't know what it is about that girl, but she makes me feel as if I can really trust her. Maybe it was the fact that both of us had lost people near to our hearts, but I'd never know. The main thing that baffled me was that she kissed me the first night I was in here, and didn't do anything even close to romantic for the rest of the time I was in here. At least being with her made time speed up. Although, I could tell that the fact that I never took my mask off no matter what pissed her off. But before I knew it, my wound was healed and I was back into the action with everybody else. The first day I was back, I wasted no time in getting to the mess hall, so I could eat and get right to training. I pushed open the doors and everybody's conversations died down to bare whispers. I hated that. So what if I was shot by a FNG and was back now?

"Any of you care to share what you're whispering about?" I asked

Nothing. Now the mess hall was silent. Thank God that they had the common sense in them to not talk back to me right now. I walked over to the kitchen and got my breakfast, then took a seat next to Hazard and MacTavish. Roach and Desert were sitting across from us. Pretty soon, everything went back to normal with people talking and joking.

"Nice to see you up and about, Ghost." MacTavish said

"Nice to be up and about." I replied

Even though Lily helped by being there most of the time, it still felt like a living hell being in that bed, unable to do anything besides read and torture myself with my own thoughts.

"You sure you're ready for training?" Roach asked

"What do you mean, Bug?" I asked

"I mean that you were shot two weeks ago and you haven't been training. Might be a little harder to get back into action."

"Piss off, Roach. I'm fine."

With that, I went back to my food in an even worse mood than earlier. When I was finished, I got up and went to the Pit. I knew that we always started training off here. I was the first to arrive, so I sat down and pulled out my iPod to listen to music. The song 'Monster' by Skillet came on. Without realizing it, I started to sing along.

"The secret side of me, I never let you see, I keep it caged, but I can't control it. So stay away from me, the beast is ugly. I feel the rage and I just can't hold it. It's scratchin' on the walls, in the closet in the halls. It comes awake and I can't control it. Hidin' under the bed, in my body, in my head. Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end? I feel it deep within, it's just beneath the skin! I must confess that I feel like a monster! I hate what I've become, the nightmare's just begun! I must confess that I feel like a monster! I- I feel like a monster! I- I feel like a monster!"

"I didn't know that you could sing." I heard somebody say. I looked up to find Lily looking down at me.

"I can't." I said bluntly

"Really? 'Cause that's not what I just heard."

"Then you should get your hearing checked."

"Huh? What was that?" She said, joking around

This earned a laugh from me. Only she could act like that and get me to laugh. If Roach acted like that, I'd just smack him for being so stupid. But Lily, she was something else entirely. I looked at her and saw an angel. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, but I don't think that's the entire reason why I saw her better than everybody else. The answer to that question felt like it was water pushing on a crumbling dam; about to give way and come forward, but the dam still had some strength left in it.

"Shut up, you muppet." I said

"Hey, I'm not a muppet."

"Then what are you?"

"The person whose sole purpose on this Earth is to make your life as hard as possible."

"So _that_ explains it. It's all clear to me now."

"You ass."

"You forgot to add hole to the end of that."

"Fine. _Asshole._ Happy?"

"Fuckin' beamin'."

She just shook her head and smiled at me. I loved it when I made her happy. Just the knowledge that I was the reason that she was smiling was enough for my lips to form one of their own. Just knowing that she was happy was enough to put me in a good mood. _Damn, why the hell does she do that to me?_ _ **It's cause you're in love mate**_ **.** _ **You just haven't felt it for so long the feeling is unfamiliar.**_ Do I really love her? I mean, she was funny and I enjoyed being around her, but did I feel like I loved her? _**Love ain't a feelin' mate. If you truly love her, you'll know soon enough.**_ Those words rang true. I guess when you know, you know. By now, most of the team had joined us, so we got training started. Everybody took their turn running the course, as did I, but I paused for a couple seconds when I reached the roof of the building. Even though it was weeks ago, the memory and the feeling of getting shot was all too fresh. I shook myself out of the trance and continued the course. When I finished, I was still a little shaken up by the memory. Normally, I didn't act this way, but then again, I didn't have to see the place or the person who was involved every day. I finished quickly, then watched as the remaining troops went up. I barely paid attention, just paid attention to the blaring music in my ears. By now the song had changed to 'Before I Forget' by Slipknot. I closed my eyes and blocked out the world. I stopped paying attention to whatever the hell Scarecrow was rambling on about and started to focus more on the music.

 _I! Am a world before I'm a man!_

 _I! Was a creature before I could stand!_

 _I! Will remember before I forget!_

 _Before I forget that!_

"Ghost, you coming?"

I opened my eyes, realizing that it was just me and Lily still by the pit. Everybody else had left.

"Yeah." I said

"You okay? You seem a little… distant today. Not very focused."

"Yeah, just thinking about more things than usual."

She didn't press for information, and I was grateful for that. I really didn't want to try and explain _Oh, I'm distracted because of you. I think I might be in love with you, but I don't know._ to her. So we just continued to walk in silence, which was more agonizing than talking about what was bugging me probably could've been. When we got to the gym, we went our separate ways, joining the soldiers we usually worked out with. We worked as we usually did, bench presses, squats, dead lifts, that kind of stuff. Two hours later, and my muscles were all but one their metaphoric hands and knees pleading with me to stop.

"Alright, enough training for today." MacTavish said "Go clean yourselves up."

I heard a few sighs of relief at those words. The 141's training regimen was a tough one. Some guys were still getting used to it, and they've been here for only months. Me, I've been here for years, so this is nothing new to me. Everybody filed out of the room, talking about anything and everything. There wasn't anything that somebody wasn't talking about. As we were walking out, I made the very serious mistake of breathing in through my nose. I coughed and sputtered, trying to get the burning stench from my nose.

"Oh, God." I said under my breath

How was it that the small amount of people in there had managed to give off an odor so strong? I wasn't able to dwell too much on it before I felt someone tug on my arm and bring me over beside the door. It took me a second, but then I realized it to be Lily.

"Hey." I said, confused as to why she brought me aside

"After you get cleaned up, come to my room. I need to talk to you."

"Can't you just talk to me here?" If all she wanted to do was talk, why'd we have to go all the way to the barracks to do it? Why not here?

"No. I want to talk to you about this privately."

"Ok?"

"Just come by my room? Please?"

"Ok, I will."

"Thanks." She flashed me a smile, then left

I don't think that I'll ever understand a woman's logic. Not going to make a big deal over it, but it just made absolutely no fuckin' sense. I shook my head and headed to my room to grab some clothes. Grabbing an outfit almost identical to the one I was wearing, I walked over to the showers. I kinda felt bad for the Rangers and Delta boys. We had the better showers than they had over in the rest of the base. Their showers only run cold. At least we get to have control over how hot it is. Luxuries of being elite. We shared a base with them, but where our barracks were, they thought was R&D. They don't think twice about it. We just make sure that whenever we train, they aren't around so that we aren't compromised. Either way, we still had better everything. I turned the knobs until the hot water hit me. A few minutes later, I was getting out with my skin bright red from being under the hot water for so long. I got dressed and I started heading for the mess. _Riley, aren't you forgetting something?_ Oh, shit. Lily. She wanted to see me in her room after training. I quickly changed course from the mess to the barracks so I could go see her. I still failed to understand why we had to go to her room for what she wanted to tell me. When I got to her room, I knocked, but no reply came. I knocked again, and still nothing. Did she forget that she wanted me to come over and talk? I knocked a third time, and this time, Lily's head appeared in the thin space the door was opened.

"Hey." She flashed me a smile

"Hi." I said, taking off my sunglasses

"Just give me a sec, okay?"

"Alright?"

She just smiled again and went back inside. If she told me to come over, why wouldn't she be ready _before_ I got here, and not just after my arrival? The door opened up again, and this time, it was opened fully. She was wearing clothes like she expected to go out. She had a simple red tank top with a leather jacket on. I looked down and saw that she was wearing black leggings with black Converse sneakers. _I guess she likes her black._ I looked more closely at her face and saw that she had faint traces of makeup on. Eye shadow, mascara, lip gloss, you name it.

"Come on in." She said, smiling

Does she ever stop having her face in a constant smile? Not that I'm complaining, I loved her smile. But it seems as though she was always smiling whenever I saw her.

"So what'd you want to talk-" I was cut off when her lips pressed into mine

Just like last time, it took me by surprise, but I soon kissed her back. When we broke apart, I didn't know what the hell to think.

"Ghost, I've- I've been feeling like- I don't know what I've been feeling lately. For a long time, I've felt like I like you a lot more than a friend; but now it feels like I like you more than even that. It's- It's so fucking confusing-"

I cut her off by slamming my lips to hers. I really didn't care about anything else that she had to say. She had already said that she cared for me as I cared for her, and that's all I cared about. But right now, in this moment, I just wanted to be able to taste the lip gloss she had on. Cherry; like the Jolly Rancher type cherry. We pulled apart, and stared into each other's eyes. I knew it sounded extremely cliché as I thought it, but at the moment, I couldn't care less. Her eyes were a bright emerald color, her hair was dyed dark red. Then, Desert and Roach just had to come along and ruin the moment.

"Oh, shit. Sorry!" Desert said once she managed to pull her tongue out of Roach's throat

I was about to chase after the Bug, but Lily put a hand on my chest. One look into her eyes, and all my anger seeped away.

"Don't worry about it. Just stay here with me."

"Okay."

After that, we just cuddled on her bed. Even after she fell asleep, her head resting on my chest, I stayed there and admired her beauty. She looked cute when she slept. _God, what the hell is this woman doing to me?_ I used to be a feared and respected officer of the 141, but whenever I was around her, I lost that kind of composure. _She's making you feel. She's bringing back Simon Riley._ It was true. Ever since that night at Roba's, Simon Riley was just the name of a man that once was. Now, she's making it so that name has meaning to me. She was bringing me back to life.

 **Question of the Chapter: What do you think is going to happen to Ghost and Hazard in 'Loose Ends'?**


	9. Rebirth

**Tracking… Found**

 **Cpl. Dunn**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Firebase Phoenix, Afghanistan**

 **A.N. Hey guys, what's up? So this is the last chapter before 'Loose Ends' and I'm kind of excited and nervous about it. I want to be able to keep it realistic, but also change the fact that Ghost and Roach die. So, if you have any ideas on how the hell I should do that, please, share them in a review or PM me. Thanks, OPKILLERFROST out.**

"Captain." The General acknowledged MacTavish's presence

"Sir." MacTavish replied curtly

"So, as I was saying, the target is a one Major Petrov. We don't know much about him at this point, given files on him were destroyed in the attacks on Washington D.C. earlier this week. All we know at this point is that he is heading the Russian ground forces in America, and that he'll be moving to a cabin in the middle of New York. Gentlemen," He looked at the girls in the room before saying "and ladies, we need to be rid of him. You leave at 2100 hours; get it done."

With that being said, the General left the room. Thanks for giving us such great instructions and words of confidence. And people wonder why I initially didn't want to be on the Prima Donna Squad. After the General left, everybody went to get ready for the mission. Granted it was only 1500 hours, we that time would fly by and before we knew it, we'd be on that chopper moving to take out the Major. As everyone went their separate ways, I went back to the barracks to get some shut eye. I didn't sleep well last night. There's just too much going on. Between Russians still shooting the hell out of the U.S., watching so many of my friends get mowed down, it's just too fucking much. When I get there, it looks exactly the same as when I left. I shared the room with Foley, so his stuff was sitting in the far corner of the room. He might seem like a soldier who does nothing but eat, breathe, and live work, but he is the most unorganized and messy person I've ever met. And wouldn't you know it? Just as my head hits the pillow, Foley comes into the room looking for some paper.

"Dunn, have you seen-"

"No." I said, stopping Foley

It didn't matter what it was, if it was in that mess Foley called his 'files' then I had no fucking clue where it was.

"I didn't even say what it was." He said, confused as hell

"Don't matter. I have no clue what the hell is in that mess of shit."

"It's not shit, Corporal."

I hated it when he called me that, and he knew it too. He only did that when he needed me to sober up, or when he really wanted to piss me off.

"Sure looks that way to me, Sarge."

And that was how I would get back at him. Either I would start, or he would, we would just go back and forth until something that happened that made us focus. Such as a BTR rolling down the street in Virginia, or when shit was falling from the sky in D.C., which always worked. Foley just gave me a death glare and walked out of the room. I closed my eyes, a few minutes later, even though it felt like hours, I started to have flashbacks of what happened in D.C.

" _What the hell are we gonna do now, man? Russians got us out numbered, shit's falling from the sky, we're screwed, man! We're totally –" I was having a panic attack. I had never been in such a stressing situation. I was in my nation's capital, running from Russians, dodging falling helicopters and jets, I was losing my grip on the situation._

" _Shut up! Get a grip, Corporal! Our weapons still work, which means we can still kick some ass." Foley yelled at me_

 _I heard a loud crash and a large… something came crashing down the street. It came to a rest next to a downed bird, cutting us off from the crash site. Then everything became eerily quiet, like Ivan just decided to pick up and leave._

" _What the hell was that?!" Blackwood whispered_

 _I glanced over at her. She looked scared as hell, and I felt the same way. I mean, between fighting for our lives, crash landing in the middle of a Russian invasion, then having shit fall from the sky, it was taxing on a person._

" _Stay here." Foley said_

" _You're goin' out there? Are you nuts?" I said_

 _I was sure the man had lost his damned mind. It felt like any second something would come falling from above and crush the poor bastard. But nothing falls._

" _It's over. Come on, we still have a war to fight." He said_

 _We all moved out the door cautiously. I still wasn't sure if shit was done raining on us or not, and I was scared as hell._

" _What the hell happened here?" Sandler asked_

 _Sandler. He would be with us here in the Task Force if he hadn't been gunned down during the assault on Whiskey Hotel. I was right behind him when a spotlight caught us sprinting for cover. The guy on the .50 cal sent a swarm of bullets towards us, most of them finding homes in Sandler's body. I remember I dragged him out of more gunfire as Ramirez shot the spotlight. I held Alex in my arms and sat there, helpless as his life seeped out faster than the blood from his wounds. Finally, his eyes showed that I held a body that contained the life force of a once great friend and warrior. I closed his eyes and payed my final respects._

" _Rest in peace."_

I was jarred from my thoughts as I heard a knock on the door. I got up and went to check who was there. I turned the handle and pulled the door open just enough for me to peek out. Ava stood there, her arms across her chest.

"Need something, Blackwood?" I asked

"No, just letting you know that we're leaving in ten mikes." She said, smirking

I looked over at the clock, which undoubtedly, said 8:50.

"Shit." I said, running past Ava to the armory so I could get ready for the mission. How the hell did the time slip by so fast? Last time I checked that damned clock, it said that it was 4:00. How do four hours and fifty minutes go by just from thinking about the past that's traumatized you? _Whatever, right now, I just need to focus on getting ready._ I ran through the door, right to my locker that held my new equipment. I grabbed the fleece, with zippers that seemed to be everywhere, and tugged it on. I threw on the vest that would hold all my ammo and tac knife. I grabbed my M4A1 and SCAR-H and ran for the chopper. _I am so fucking late it's not even funny._ Well, at least not to me it wasn't. Blackwood on the other hand, was laughing her ass of as she watched me haul ass from the armory to the chopper. I ran up the ramp and took a seat in between Roach and Hazard.

"Nice that you decided to join us, Dunn." MacTavish said

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world, sir." I said sarcastically

"Well aren't you just the jester?" Neon muttered as I walked past

"Hmm. Jester, I like it." MacTavish said

"Like what?" Spirit asked

"I think we just found Dunn's new call sign."

"It's official. Welcome to the 141, Jester." Price said

I smiled at the new name. Now, only to few, I was still Scott Dunn. Now, I'm Jester.

"Ready up." Ghost said

I looked out one of the windows and saw trees, trees, and more fuckin' trees. We touched down in a small clearing, which was obviously used by the Russians because there were supply drops and weapons all over.

"Let's move. We don't want to be here when they get back." MacTavish said

I looked around, trying to see if there were hostiles around, but found nothing showing any signs of recent movement. I moved into the trees with the rest of the group, praying to god that this mission would just go as planned.

"We're about a click northwest of the target building. Jester, Ramirez, Roach, Ghost, and I will move around and flank from the east, while the rest of you will move in and attack from the west. He'll have nowhere to run." MacTavish said

From there, we split up. I wish MacTavish had put me with Blackwood. Ever since she shot Ghost, she hadn't been quite the same. It was barely noticeable, but every time she held a gun, I could see the fear in her eyes. The fear that said she was scared of hurting anyone ever again. I just didn't want to her to get hurt because she was too scared to end someone's life when she was looking at someone ready to end hers. I was jarred from my thoughts when MacTavish said something about nearing the house.

"I've got a tango on the balcony." Ghost said

The Russian was leaning on a railing outside a door, which, I think, leads to the kitchen. Below him was a door for access to the basement.

"Weapons free. Suppressed weapons only." MacTavish said

I aimed down the red dot sight on my M4A1 and fired two shots into the Russian's chest. He fell over the railing and hit the ground with a thud. We moved up to the tree line and waited for the others to get into position.

"Team Two in position." Price said

"Roger that, Bravo-Six." Soap muttered

"I see two- wait- no, three tangos patrolling outside the house. Two are moving around the perimeter, one is standing guard at the door."

"Roger. Any snipers you can see?"

"Negative, Soap. We're in the clear unless the bastards are in ghillie suits."

"Roger that. Price, take out the tangos so we can move up."

"Roger that, Soap."

For a few seconds I heard nothing. Then, there were three unmistakable thuds of bodies dropping to the ground.

"All clear." Price announced

"Roger. Squad, stack up at the door."

We did as he said, Ghost lining up behind MacTavish on one side of the door, and me in between Ramirez and Roach.

"Roach, get a breaching charge on the door." MacTavish said

Roach reached into his backpack and pulled out a square, white object with a handle on one side, and a strong adhesive on the other. Roach shoved it into the middle of the door and pressed the detonator. _Let's hope things will go right for a change._ Yeah, right. Since when do things actually go right? They go left, forwards, backward, anywhere but right. Either way, Petrov wasn't leaving here alive.

"Go, go, go!" MacTavish said

What's with the repetition? Wouldn't once or twice worked? You had to say 'go' three fucking times? Whatever. I walked through the shattered doorway after Ramirez, and fired at the Russians who weren't dazed by the explosions. Within seconds, the room was cleared. I could hear gunshots upstairs, so Price and his team must be inside the building already.

"Jester, Roach, get upstairs and search for Petrov."

"Roger that." I said

We moved up the stairs, which, for the record, had way too many landings. We went up two steps and we hit a landing. We turned right, went up, like, ten more, then hit another landing. We finally turned right and went up a couple more and we're upstairs, but did the house _really_ need to have two landings going upstairs. And here I am ranting to myself about how many landings on stairs there are when there's a house full of Russians shooting at me. The wonders of the human mind. _Anyways,_ the Russians were killed pretty quickly, allowing us to sweep through the rest of the house.

"There's nobody here, sir." Foley said

"Bloody hell. Shepard isn't going to like this." Ghost said

"Too right mate." MacTavish said "Command, the HVT isn't here. We're coming home."

"Roger that. Exfil is Oscar Mike." Command said

"Let's move." Price said

We all moved out through the front doors, which had been blown to splinters when Price's team breached through it. Outside were the bodies of the guards who'd been killed by unseen enemies. We moved back among the trees. It was going to be a long trek back to the LZ.

"So what're we going to do now that Petrov isn't here?" Neon asked

"I don't know. Shepard will probably chew us out, tell us to go get cleaned up, then have us sent out on a mission tomorrow or the next day." MacTavish replied

"Ain't that the truth." I muttered. Shepard rarely let anybody rest for long before he sent them on some goddamned mission.

Fifteen minutes later, we finally managed to get back to the LZ. The chopper was just coming into sight as we broke out of the tree line. Then, like usual, things went to hell. Bullets started flying everywhere and the air was filled with the sound of gunshots and angry Russians.

"Hotel-Six, the LZ is too hot. We cannot land. I repeat, we cannot land at the primary LZ." The pilot said

"Just land! We need to get out of here now!" MacTavish yelled

"Roger."

The chopper came down, and the fighting intensified. We couldn't allow the chopper to be destroyed or we'd be toast. Before the helicopter's wheels hit the ground, I jumped into it. I would rather be in a bulletproof metal container than in the open with not so bulletproof air. We all got in and were still shooting out the back when we took off. RPGs were flying everywhere trying to take us down. It honestly felt like D.C. again when we were after those SAM sites on top of the Department of Justice. I thought that at any moment, we were going to get shot down. But we didn't. We got out of there all safe and sound.

"So, where we going next?" Ava asked next to me

I just chuckled and looked at her. She always wanted to get into the fight.

"Hey Cap, how's Boxer for Blackwood here?"

MacTavish gave me a puzzled look, like he didn't understand my thinking yet. "Why Boxer?"

"She always wants a fight."

"Alright. Boxer it is."

Ava looked at me and smiled. Oh god, don't tell me this is going to be a cliché. Are all of us going to start going out with each other before this war was over? Roach and Desert were already dating, and so were Ghost and Hazard. Was I really going to fall for Ava and date her? Yeah, I think I'm going to.

 **QoC: If you would want one character to die, who would it be?**


	10. Loose Ends

**Tracking… Found**

 **Cpl. Scott "Jester" Dunn**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Firebase Phoenix, Afghanistan**

 **A.N. Hey guys, Happy New Years! (Even though that was yesterday, but whatever.) Finally got Loose Ends finished and I tried my best to play it so that Roach and Ghost survive rather than die, so I hope that you like it. Please R+R, tell me if you liked it, what you didn't like. So, enjoy, OPKILLERFROST out.**

"These are the last safe havens left on Earth for Makarov and his men." Shepard said, a map highlighting two locations on the screen behind him. One was on the Russian border, and the other in the Afghan. Either way, there were still more Russians to deal with. _Yay!_ Fun.

"Sounds like we gotta be in two places at once." Price commented

"Impossible?" Shepard gave Price a glare

"Not for the One-Four-One."

"Fifty-fifty chance to take out Makarov, eh? Captain Price, request permission to take the safehouse with Roach, Hazard, Desert, Boxer, and Jester." Ghost said

"Granted. Soap, Neon, Spirit, Ramirez, Foley, and I will take the boneyard in Afghanistan."

"Very well. We will cut off all avenues of escape. This ends now."

"Strange. I coulda sworn we ended this war the other day." Price said

We all went for the armory and suited up. I grabbed my guns and put the attachments on. An M4A1, SCAR-H, and ACR all outfitted for SOPMOD. I stayed quiet the entire time while I walked to the chopper, through the entire flight, and trekking through the Russian woods to get to the house. The only thing I was thinking was, _What if Makarov isn't going to be there or at the boneyard? There_ has _to be another place he could be. There's no way that these are the_ only _places for him and his men._ I guess you could say that I'm a bit of a pessimist. There barely was a situation I was in where I didn't think of a bad outcome. I just couldn't shake the feeling that this mission was going to turn out _really_ badly.

"Snipers in position." Archer said

I looked to my right and saw him and Toad in ghillie looking over the cliff that gave them a direct line of sight to the safehouse. I looked out to the field below us where Apex, Cypher, Echo, and Jayhawk were waiting.

"Strike team go. Engage Makarov on sight." Ghost said

"Roger that." Scarecrow said at almost the same time that Ozone said "Solid copy."

"Let's go. Let's go."

 _What's with the repetition? I get the urgency, but do you have to repeat yourself?_ We continued down the slope to the safe house, right behind Apex and the others. Then everything went to shit. Bouncing Betties popped up and we dropped to the ground. Well, most of us. Apex and the other three weren't so lucky. They didn't react quickly enough and got killed by the mines. One of the mines exploded above me, dazing me while Ghost was yelling something about targets to our left.

"Targets! Left side! Left Side!"

 _Again, what the hell is with the repetition? Whatever._ I got up and took cover behind a tree. Or what was left of it. Damn thing was nearly cut in half by the mines. I heard popping sounds and smoke started to spread through the trees to our front. _Goddammit. They just had to add smoke into the mix, didn't they?_ Then, just to rub salt in the wound, mortar fire came down around us.

"They've got this area pre-sighted for mortar fire!" Scarecrow yelled

"Counterattack into the smoke! Push, push, push!" Ghost yelled

 _Oh my fucking god. GHOST. WE GET IT. YOU WANT US TO MOVE OUR ASSES. JUST SAY IT WITH URGENCY. STOP REPEATING EVERYTHING YOU FUCKING SAY._ But I digress. We ran through the smoke and ended up in an area of cut down trees. Those fuckers did not give you any cover whatsoever. We were just lucky the Russians were probably drunk off their asses or just _really_ inexperienced. We continued through the smoke and trees until we made it to a field of solar panels.

"We got two trucks leaving the target building." Archer said

I looked up the driveway and saw two jeeps making their way down the driveway.

"Don't let those trucks get away!" Ghost yelled

"Roger. Firing javelin, danger close."

When did they have a javelin? I remember two snipers, their rifles, some ammo, but no javelin.

"Javelin danger close! Get back from the road!" Ghost said while shooting the trucks "Bloody hell, those trucks are bulletproofed."

"Two away!"

A second later, the trucks were destroyed by two missiles and were in a crumpled heap at the end of the driveway.

"Moving vehicles have been neutralized. Be advised, we have not, I repeat, we have not spotted Makarov, and no one else has left the house. Those trucks may have been decoys, over."

"Roger that! We're advancing on the house now!" Ghost said, running up the driveway

The others followed him, with me bringing up the rear. _Why does this feel off? Everything is normal, comms, sniper support, so what the fuck is it?_ I didn't know, and I didn't want to find out. We encountered hostiles, but took them out with ease. They didn't stand a chance against the ten of us, if you include Archer and Toad.

"Breach and clear the safe house! Go, go!" Ghost said as soon as the last hostile was dead

 _This guy does not take a break, does he?_ I followed Ozone across the patio and stacked up across from him outside the kitchen door, with Ava right behind me. I placed a breaching charge on the door and detonated it. Ozone went in first, dropping a tango in the foyer. I shot a Ruskie in the chest and he went down, but didn't make it much farther until I was hit in the chest.

"Shit." I said just before I blacked out

 **Roach's POV**

I had just breached through the basement door when I heard Jester was down. _Son of a bitch._ I didn't know Dunn well, but I knew he was a good man. It was a shame to hear that happen to him. I cleared out the hostiles on the bottom floor and continued upstairs. _Shit._ Jester was on the ground in front of the front doorway with Boxer laying over him, crying.

"What happened?" Liz asked, coming up behind me

"Poor bastard was hit when he came through the door. Never stood a chance." Ghost said

I looked back at Boxer. She had her helmet off and her face was wet with tears. It was obvious her and Jester were close. Probably closer than most people thought. It was a damn shame to see someone die like-

"Did he just cough?" Scarecrow asked

"Scott?" Ava said, holding Jester's face

Huh. Never would've thought his name to be Scott. Yet again, that's what you get for not socializing with the FNGs. Then I heard it. It was quiet, so quiet nobody would've heard it if we all weren't quiet and listening. Soon, it sounded like the bastard was coughing up half a fucking lung.

"What… the fuck… happened?" Jester asked

"You nearly died, Scott. You almost fucking died." Boxer told him

"Well… I'm not…. So… what's the… gameplan?"

"Well, you're going to find someplace to take it easy." Ghost said

"How? We're here and there are more Ultranationalists on the way." Hazard said

"We'll find somewhere for him. For now, Roach, go upstairs and check any locked doors on the top floor. Breach and clear."

Nodding, I held my ACR out at the ready. I knew there were going to be more Russians upstairs, but why they haven't come down and shot us yet, I don't fucking know. As I came to the top of the stairs, a Russian came charging out of the bathroom, but didn't get far before I shot him down. I turned left and saw an open door to my front and a closed one to its left. _I'll breach that later._ I tossed a flashbang in the next room before shooting the two hostiles inside. _These guys are too easy to kill. It's fucking ridiculous._ I put a breaching charge on the closed door and detonated the charge. I took a secondto survey the room, or what I could see. On my right, there was a wall that ended about three feet in front of me before splitting right, cutting the rest of the room off from my sight. There were two folding tables covered in boxes and various weapons scattered across the room. I tossed a flashbang into the room and two Russians sprang up from behind the folding table covered in boxes. I cut them down quickly, just as a hostile came running from around the corner. I shot him down before he could even get close to shooting me.

"Top floor clear!" Scarecrow said, appearing behind me

"Roger that! Top floor clear! Desert, go with Scarecrow and check the basement for enemy activity. Breach and clear. Go." Ghost said

 **Desert's POV**

I watched as Scarecrow and Gary came downstairs. He at me, and I understood what he was trying to say. _Be safe._ I looked at him reassuringly, and followed Scarecrow downstairs. There was a room with the door we breached through, and a hallway splitting off. I looked down it and saw a bathroom at the end with a dead Russian. On both sides were locked doors, so I started with the one on the left. I put a breaching charge on the door, and just before I pressed the detonator, I heard Scarecrow say "I got your back Desert."

I swiveled through the doorway and saw three Russians running through a doorway, and one tripped. _Dumbass._ I shot the two who were still on their feet before taking down the one on the ground. When all the dust had settled there were three dead Russians laying in a trail leading down to the boathouse. I turned around and saw Scarecrow stacked up against the other door. I walked over to him and planted another breaching charge on the door, and when he nodded, I blew it. I walked in and was immediately assaulted by a Russian wielding a Mini Uzi. I shot him down but not before another Ruskie appeared through a doorway to my left. I shot him and walked into the room to make sure he was dead. But when I walked through the door, I stopped caring about if he was dead or alive. Covering an entire wall was enough weapons to supply a small army.

"Basement clear!" Scarecrow reported behind me

"Roger that! Basement clear! All clear. Squad, regroup on me." Ghost said

When we were with the others, Ghost told Scarecrow to go take photographs of the various pieces of intel laying around the room.

"Roger that." Scarecrow said

"Shepard, this is Ghost. No sign of Makarov. I repeat, no sign of Makarov. Captain Price, any luck in Afghanistan?"

"Plenty… at least fifty hired guns here, but no sign of Makarov. Perhaps our intel was off." Price said through the comms

 _Perhaps_ our intel was off? Since when was our intel ever right?

"Well the quality of the intel's about to change. This safehouse is a bloody goldmine."

"Copy that. Ghost, have your team collect everything you can for an operations playbook. Names, contacts, places, everything." Shepard said

"We're already on it, sir. Makarov will have nowhere to run."

"That's the idea. I'm bringing up an extraction force. ETA five minutes. Get that intel. Shepard out."

"Roach, get on Makarov's computer and start the transfer. Ozone, you're on rear security. I've got the front. Boxer, take up over watch on the top floor. Hazard, watch the kitchen. Desert, watch the windows in the front. Go." Ghost said

"On my way." Ozone said

"What about me?" Jester asked

"What about you?"

"Where should I cover?"

"You're injured mate. Find a spot where you won't get shot and stay there."

"Roger that." He said glumly

He started to walk towards the stairs, but faltered when he got there. Boxer rushed forward and caught him and helped him up. I walked over to Gary who was taking the DSM from his pack.

"What do you think is going to happen? I mean, the Ultranationalists aren't just going to let us walk out of here with this data." I said

"I think that they're going to come over here thinking that they're going to come in and kill us, but then their thinking gets cut off by a couple well placed bullets." He replied, not looking up from the computer

"Damn. Little dark, don't you think?"

He finally looked up from the computer and looked at me, pulling down his balaclava. "Liz, you know me. I'm a bit dark. But no matter what those Russians think, we're making it out of this alive. Now, shall we get back to work?"

"Yeah, probably. Stay safe." I said before kissing him

"You too."

"Since when aren't I safe?"

"Ummmm, well there was that time when-"

"Never mind, don't answer that."

He chuckled and connected the DSM to the computer while I walked over to the windows. I have fallen in love with the biggest idiot in the world, but at least he's my idiot. I just can't wait until all of this was over and we were back at the base. Oh how I miss my bed there.

"Task Force, this is Price. More of Makarov's men just arrived at the boneyard... Soap, cover me. I'm gonna slot that guy over there and use his radio to tap into their comms. Ghost, we're going silent for a few minutes. Good luck up there in Russia. Price out."

"Team, there's an armory in the basement. Better stock up while you can." Ozone told us

"Makarov's men are going to do whatever it takes to keep us from leaving with this intel. We need to protect the DSM until the transfer's done. Use the weapons caches and set up your claymores if you've got any left. Defensive positions, let's go!" Ghost said

At least I wasn't the only one who realized that every Ultranationalist psycho in Makarov's pocket was about to show up at our front door to collect the DSM. We needed to be ready for them. I saw Boxer walk outside holding a claymore, then walk back in a couple minutes later without the rest that were on her belt. Then I heard an explosion and knew I was about to get into the fight of my life.

 **Archer's POV**

I looked through my scope and saw the others taking up position throughout the house. Boxer came out and put a few Claymores around the house, but went back inside. Nothing really interesting, that was, until the explosion that came from the southeast.

"Be advised, you have a large concentration of hostiles moving in from the southeast. They've just breached the perimeter! I'll try to thin 'em out before they get too close. Recommend you switch to scoped weapons, over." I told the team

I aimed down the sights of my M14 and fired at the Russians that were advancing on the house. I had to keep them from entering, or else they'd get in and destroy the DSM. That couldn't happen. I pushed the release for the magazine in my gun, and as I was sliding in a new one, a heli was coming in and more Russians were fast roping in behind the house."

"RPG team moving in from the southwest." I told the team

I tried shooting as many of them off the rope as I could before their boots hit the ground. I missed all but one. Damn. But what are you going to do? Like one man was going to make a difference.

"I'm hit! Need assist…" Ozone called out

That's what one man could do. The man who killed him could've very well been the one who I failed to shoot off of the rope. It's the little things that matter the most. You forget to set your alarm, you're late, you fail to kill one of theirs, and they kill one of yours.

"I have eyes on additional hostile forces moving in on your position. They're approaching from the solar panels east of the house." Toad told the team "Archer, focus. You can't zone out like that."

"Ozone just died. How are you not bothered by that?"

"I am. But now is not the time for grieving."

"I guess the apprentice has become the master."

"Shut up."

I chuckled to myself and looked back down the scope and continued to shoot down the Russians.

 **Ghost's POV**

This day couldn't get any worse. At first, it appeared that everything was going to go nice and smooth. But _no,_ the Russians just _had_ to figure out that we were going to storm the safehouse. But how? There was nobody that could've known unless they were in the mission briefing. Whatever. For right now, we had to protect that DSM. If the Ultranationalists got a hold of it or destroyed it, it wouldn't be good for us.

"I'm displacing. You're going to be without sniper support for thirty seconds, standby." Archer called through

Great. Fucking great. Without Archer and Toad to thin these guys out, it was going to be hell trying to get these guys to stay away from the house. This is going to hell real quick.

"RPG team moving in from the east." Toad told us

They must've found a better position to shoot from if they were back with us. I turned around and saw Roach heading for the windows in the dining room. Kid's smart. I just hope we'll all make it through this.

"Enemy fast attack choppers coming in from the northwest." Archer relayed

"Roger that. Enemy helos approaching from the northwest." I echoed to make sure everybody heard

I knew my constant repetition annoyed the shit out of some people, but I'd rather them be annoyed and alive then confused and dead.

"Hostiles approaching from the west!" Archer said

"They must be by the boathouse! Everyone, cover the west approach!" I yelled

"We got 240s and RPGs in the dining room windows, plus L86 machine guns." Scarecrow said

"Roger that! Use 'em to cut 'em down as they come through the treeline!"

I continued to shoot all the hostiles coming from the front, but there were way too many. If Shepard and his extraction force didn't get here soon, then we weren't going to be alive much longer.

"I'm hit!" Scarecrow yelled

I turned around to see him clutching his shoulder while blood poured profusely out of it. He wasn't going to make it without medical assistance.

"Roach! Cover the front!" I yelled

"Roger that."

I ran from the office to the computer where Scarecrow was laying. I applied pressure to the wound and sat him up so the blood flow would slow down. There was just too much of it. The bullet must've nicked an artery because there was way too much blood for a simple hit to the shoulder. Plus, with his armor there, the bullet never should've been able to get through.

"Ghost. Just leave me. I'm not going to make it." Scarecrow said

"No! I'm getting you out of this!" I yelled at him

I didn't know Scarecrow well, but I wasn't about to let someone die when they could be saved. But we couldn't drag him out of here with the Russians breathing down our necks. Plus, Jester was down too. We'd be cut down instantly trying to haul them out of here. Then I got an idea. I pulled Scarecrow up and helped him get upstairs and set him down next to Jester.

"Everyone! Fall back and protect the top floor. Roach, the transfer's complete! I'll cover the main approach while you get the DSM! Move!" I yelled

"Ghost, what are you doing?" Lily asked me

"Stay here and protect Scarecrow and Jester. Shepard will be here soon. Just hold them off a little longer!"

"Be careful."

"I will love. Just stay here and protect them!"

I didn't want to leave her here, but I had no other choice. I wasn't going to put her in harm's way by bringing her with us when there's an entire army of Russians out there, but yet again, it wasn't the safest option to stay boxed in here.

"This is Shepard, we're almost to the LZ. What is your status, over?"

"We're on our way to the LZ! Roach, let's go!"

He grabbed it and we ran out the front door. As soon as we stepped outside, bullets were flying all around us. I shot down a couple Russians before I had to start running again. This was insanity. This entire day has gone to hell, but yet again, when do my day not go to hell?

"Ghost, we're moving to the LZ. You'll be without sniper support, over." Archer called

"No! Stay and protect the house. We've still got people inside!" I yelled

There was no way I was going to let them die. They needed all the help they could get.

"Roger that."

Roach and I kept running until we got to a hill just above the LZ. We were almost out of here. Just a few more meters. That can't be so hard, right? Wrong. Mortars started to bracket our position and we had to run for our lives or die.

"They're bracketing our position with mortars! Keep moving but watch your back!" I yelled "Roach! I've got you covered! Go! Go! Get to the LZ!"

I stayed near the top of the hill while Roach ran down. I had to keep shooting and kill every hostile I could see or Roach would die and we'd fail. I couldn't let that happen. I shot all hostiles I could before I watched Roach go flying. _Shit._ Goddamned mortars. I ran forward and grabbed him by his vest and started dragging him to the LZ. I saw that reinforcements had finally gotten here and a Little Bird came down.

"This is Thunder Two-One, standing by to engage."

I threw red smoke at the treeline to show the pilot where to shoot.

"I've got you Roach, hang on! Thunder Two-One, I've popped red smoke in the treeline! Standby to engage on my mark!" I yelled

"Roger that. I have a visual on the red smoke. Standing by."

I dragged Roach past the chopper before yelling "Thunder Two-One, cleared hot."

"Roger that. Guns, guns, guns."

I watched as the Little Bird lit up the hostiles in the trees. We finally made it out. I looked down at Roach and saw him slipping from consciousness. I had to get him out of here. I looked behind me to see Shepard's Pave Low come in for a landing. I grabbed Roach and hauled him to his feet.

"Come on, get up! Get up! We're almost there!" I told him

 _Come on Roach, we're almost there. Don't give up now._ I helped him stagger towards the heli before it landed and the ramp lowered , with Shepard coming out.

"Do you have the DSM?" Shepard asked

"We've got it, sir." I said, relieved to be away from that house and to be going home.

"Good. That's one less loose end."

Wait, what? Loose end? What is he talking about? Before I can question him about it, he takes out his .44 Magnum and shoots Roach in the stomach.

"NO!" I yelled, pulling up my ACR to shoot the treacherous General

I didn't get far though. Shepard, not even looking at me, pulled up his gun and shot me in the shoulder. _Son of a bitch. So this is how I die. Being betrayed by my superior. Again._

 **Hazard's POV**

"Good. That's one less loose end." I heard Shepard say before a gunshot went off

"NO!" I heard Ghost yell before another gunshot

No, no, no, no, no. Please don't be dead Simon. You can't be dead. You can't be.

I heard footsteps approaching and readied my gun before some of Shepard's Shadow Company soldiers came in.

"Hostiles! Take 'em out!" One of them yelled

They didn't get far before they were killed. Then, just like the Russians, they started coming non-stop.

"You've got hostiles approaching from the field to the southeast." Archer called

"Thanks Archer." I said

I ran into the room Roach breached earlier and looked outside, where sure enough, more Shadow Company were coming. There were dozens of them, and we were low on ammo. How the hell are we going to be able to take all of them down? Either way, we were going to do it. I took aim with my ACR and started firing into the masses of them. I saw a couple drop, then a couple more receive headshots from Archer and Toad.

"Ghost! Come in, this is Price! We're under attack by Shepherd's men at the boneyard! Soap, hold the left flank! Do not trust Shepherd! I say again, do not trust Shepherd! Soap, get down!—"

Before long, there were about two dozen left that made it to the house. _I've got to get to Ghost._ I left the room and went out to the stairs, where the SC were heading up. I cut them down and kept killing every single goddamned one of them that came through the house. If I saw someone wearing black, they were getting a bullet put in them. Soon enough, they were all dead.

"There's going to be more of them. We need to get out of here." Liz said

"Too right. Ava, get Dunn. Liz, grab Mike. We've got to get to Simon and Gary." I said

They went over and helped each of them up, all the while Dunn was protesting that he could walk on his own.

"Scott, you're injured. I'm helping you walk." Ava said

We got out of the house as fast as we could, trying to get to Ghost and Roach. I could see a cloud of smoke coming up and got a _really_ bad feeling in my stomach. We made it to our supposed LZ and I saw a sight that made me want to scream. Ghost and Roach were engulfed in flames in the middle of the field. I ran forward and threw myself in the fire to get them out. By the time that the fire was off of them, most of their bodies had already been badly burned.

"No. Ghost." I started to sob

Just when I had found someone I could truly love and trust, they had been taken from me by someone that I thought was fighting on the same side as us. I just cried and cried over Simon body and prayed to God that this was just a _really_ bad dream. Before long, Archer and Toad joined us.

"Lily. We have to go. You have to let him go." Archer said

No. I can't leave him. Not like this. Not burned and charred in some field somewhere in the middle of Russia. I couldn't do that to him. I looked at him once more, taking off his charred mask. Underneath, his face was barely touched by the fire. I took in his features one more time. His hair, his lips, everything. I kissed him one last time, but felt something I shouldn' have. Simon's breath.

"Simon?" I asked hesitantly

I shook him and his chest started to move more. He was breathing. _He's fucking breathing!_ I had to get him out of here. He was hurt and he was hurt bad.

"Archer, call Captain Price. We have to get out of here." I said

"Roger that."

One way or another, we were going to get out of this god-forsaken country and kill Shepard. That bastard just started a war of his own. And he wasn't going to win.

 **QoC: How do you think the survivors of the safehouse are going to get out of Russia?**


	11. Endgame

**Tracking… Found**

 **Captain John "Soap" MacTavish**

 **Task Force 141 Disavowed**

 **Eastern Afghanistan**

 **A.N. Hey guys, what's up? This chapter will go through the rest of the MW2 storyline, but I'm not ending this fic there. This'll continue into the events of MW3. Figured I'd tell you that, and so, please, R+R, PM, whatever you wish. Enjoy, OPKILLERFROST out.**

"Roach? Ghost? Come in, Ghost! Does anyone copy?" I yelled into the comms, begging for my best friend to answer

"They're dead, Soap. Shepard's cleaning house. I'm working my way back to you." Price said

He was all the way across the boneyard. It was going to be hell for us to RV and get out of here. No, it's not going to be hell. It's going to be like Satan himself is walking the Earth. All because of that bastard Shepard.

"Shepard betrayed us." I said bitterly

"Have to trust someone to be betrayed. I never did. Nikolai, come in. Do you have our location?" Price called in

"Da. Inbound. But I am not the only one. You've got Shepard's men on one side, and Makarov's on the other." A familiar Russian accent responded

"We'll have to take them all out then."

"Or let them take each other out. Either way, I'll see you on the other side, my friend."

I had been hiding inside an old private jet with Neon when the fighting reached us. I pulled her down as a barrage of bullets flew through the windows and ripped apart the upholstery. As I said, this was going to be hell trying to get out of here.

"Soap! Shepherd's trying to wipe out us and Makarov at the same time! Head for rally point Bravo to the west! Trust no one!" Price yelled to me

"What about Neon and Spirit? They're part of the team too, you know." I said, just to lighten the situation

"You know what I meant, Soap." Price said darkly

I looked over at Lyvia. She looked so scared, but fearless at the same time. Her face showed a look of determination, and anger, but her eyes showed me that she was scared out of her mind. I had to get her out of here. I looked outside and saw Shadow Company soldiers were fighting with Makarov's mercs. It was now or never if we wanted to get out of here.

"Neon, let's go!" I yelled

She didn't say anything, just started to move toward the exit in the plane while staying low. Once we were outside, I pulled out my MP5K and shot at the surrounding enemies.

"Head for the rally point! Go! Go! Go! Nikolai! This is Price! Be advised, the LZ it hot, I repeat, the LZ is hot!" Price yelled

"Ok, Captain Price, I am on the way! Try to get the situation under control before I get there, ok?" Nikolai said, being the cheeky bastard he was

"Right, whatever you say, Nikolai! Just get here sharpish! Soap, let Makarov and Shepherd's men kill each other off as much as you can. We can use their comms to listen in on their radio traffic. I'm going to try to contact Makarov."

I started running with Lyv through the graveyard, dodging BTRs, trucks, mercs, Shadow Company, you name it. I saw some SC starting to go through a plane that was laying on a hill and cut in half, open end up. I shot them down and ran through their intended path.

"Makarov, this is Price. Shepherd's a war hero now. He's got your operations playbook and he's got a blank check. Give me what you got on Shepherd, and I'll take care of the rest. I know you can hear me on this channel Makarov. You and I both know you won't last a week." Price said calmly, which was a first ever since we had been attacked by Shadow Company.

"And neither will you." Makarov responded

"Makarov...you ever hear the old saying...the enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

"Price, one day you're going to find that cuts both ways. Shepherd is using Site Hotel Bravo. You know where it is. I'll see you in hell."

"Looking forward to it. Give my regards to Zakhaev if you get there first."

Lyvia and I jumped from the back of the plane and slid down a hill into some supply crates. There were enemies on all sides and we were getting bogged down.

Then, almost as if on cue, Price said "Soap! Don't get pinned down out there! Keep heading west for the runway area! Nikolai, where the hell are you?

"Sand storms around Kandahar, Captain Price. I have to fly around them. I am not getting paid enough to crash my plane."

I watched as a C-130 flew over our position. That had to be Nikolai, no doubt about it.

"Price, I am approaching the boneyard. I see you do not have situation under control. Very unsafe to land. It looks like when I was in Afghanistan with the Soviets!" Nikolai said

"Nikolai! Just shut up and land the bloody plane! We're on our way!"

I could tell that Price was getting fed up by the sarcasm. Yet again, if it were me Nikolai was talking to, I would've been screaming at the bastard.

"Вот дерьмо! Нет, мне явно недоплачивают за эту работу! Одни ракеты сколько стоят! Твою мать! Пизда!" I heard Nikolai yelling over the radio. I couldn't make sense of it, but that's because I don't know Russian. **So that you guys don't get confused, I got how you'd pronounce the words and the translation to English. Anybody who's reading and doesn't know English, sorry. (Vot dyermo! Net, mnye yavno nedoplachivayut za etu rabotu! Odni rakyety skolko stoyat! Tvoyu mat! Pizda!) (Holy shit! No, I'm really not paid enough for this job! The missiles alone cost so much! Your mother! Cunt!)**

With Neon's help, I shot down all the hostiles and ran forward. I was about to cross a road when SC trucks came through and ran over a Russian. I pulled Lyv back before she walked out and got hit too. I started to get up when I heard Price yell to us again.

"Soap! Hurry! We've gotta get to Nikolai's plane! Keep moving west! Soap! I'm going to get some transport! Make your way west towards the runway! Soap! I've found some transport! Keep moving west! I'll meet you en route!"

At least we weren't going to have to run to the runway and jump on a moving plane. I don't think that would've gone very well. I pulled Lyvia up and we ran through more plane ruins until we reached another road where a truck full of Shadow Company soldiers came tearing through and crashed, then exploded. I looked to my left and saw a BTR aiming for us when a Russian hit it with an RPG. _Whoever you are, thank you._ A couple seconds later, Price and Spirit pulled up to the clearing in a jeep.

"Captain Price, I am taking off in one minute! You better hurry if you want a ride out of here!" Nikolai yelled

"Soap! We don't have much time! Nikolai's not going to wait around for us! Hurry!" Price said urgently

I got in the passenger seat while Lyvia ran around and jumped in the back. Spirit was behind the wheel and took off through the ruins, dodging trucks and planes alike. Within a couple seconds, we were on the runway, just a ways behind Nikolai's plane. Spirit took off down the runway, but it was hard to keep control with more Shadow Company soldiers in trucks ramming us, making the jeep swerve around.

"Nikolai! Drop the blood ramp! We're coming in!" Price yelled

Nikolai didn't say anything, but a second later, the ramp to the plane lowered and sparks flew from where the edge hit the pavement. Spirit slammed her foot on the accelerator, and before she could do anything else, she was shot in the head, blood and brain matter spraying all over the dashboard.

"Soap, Spirit's down! Take the wheel!" Price yelled back while he shot at more trucks

I grabbed onto the wheel with my left hand and tried my best to steer with one hand. Before long, we were in the plane, and Nikolai was taking off, the ramp closing. I let out a breath that I realized I had been holding ever since Spirit was shot. I tried not to look at the body that just a few seconds ago held the life of a friend. I couldn't bear to think about all the men we've lost today. Everybody at Firebase Phoenix was no doubt imprisoned or executed by now, Ghost and the others were most likely dead up in Russia. Only when Nikolai called back to us, did I stop thinking about everyone who's died because one man willed it to happen.

"Captain Price! I have a transmission coming in from a man named Archer! He one of yours?"

"Wait, did you say Archer?" I asked, walking towards the cockpit

"Da. Says he and others are stranded in Russia with multiple casualties and in need of immediate exfil."

"Can you send one of your men to extract them?"

"Da. I'll send for them immediately."

I sat down against the wall of the plane. They were alive, well at least most of them were. They actually might be saved.

 _ **Three Hours Later**_

I woke up on the embankment of the river. Instantly, I felt water in my lungs, and I started convulsing, trying to get it all up. My vision was blurry and I faintly recognized a pain in my right leg. _What the hell happened?_ Then it all came back. We left Lyvia with Nikolai, and went after Shepard at Site Hotel Bravo. The bombing, the river chase, the crash, it all came back. I had to get up. I had to find Shepard and make sure that bastard was finished once and for all. I pulled myself up and staggered over to what I resembled a twisted pile of burning metal. I nearly tripped when a Shadow Company soldier was crawling across my path. He was in visible pain, so I left him. I hoped he suffered. I continued to the chopper to where a wounded soldier was laying. When he saw me, he pulled out a G18, and tried to shoot me. The gun clicked, and I knew the gun was empty. I pulled out my knife and stabbed him in the chest. When he was dead, I pulled my knife out and continued to look through the wreckage before Shepard stumbled out, clutching his ribs. The bastard was wounded. Now all I needed to do was kill him and finish this. I followed where he ran off too and found him leaning against a burned out car. Without waiting a second longer, I took a stab at him, literally. Before the blade could come into contact with his flesh, he grabbed my wrist, twisted it around and slammed my face against the roof of the car. Can I just take a second to say, _ow._ The general might be old, but he can still pack a punch. I hit the ground, and before I could react, he pulled out a knife of his own and sent it through my chest. Then, I blacked out. I don't know how long I was out, but as I was starting to wake up, Shepard started to give some kind of speech as he prepared to kill me.

"Five years ago, I lost thirty thousand men in the blink of an eye. And the world just fuckin' watched. Tomorrow, there will be no shortage of volunteers, no shortage of patriots." Shepard said while reloading. He aimed the gun at me, before muttering "I know you understand."

Then, as if by magic, Price came barreling through and tackled the General. I must have a guardian angel looking over me because Shepard had pulled the trigger as he was hit and the bullet whizzed right by my head. I looked to my left and saw Shepard's gun on the ground. I had a stupid and very painful idea, but it just might save Price's life. I crawled towards the gun, and just as I reached it, Price was thrown on the ground. Shepard stomped on my hand before I could pick up the gun and then proceeded to kick me in the face. I started fading in and out of consciousness while Shepard and Price continued to fight. When I finally woke up, Shepard had just knocked Price down and was now straddling him, all the while punching him in the face. And then my brain thought of its second idiotic and painful thought of the day. I gripped the knife in my chest with my right hand and started to pull it out, with blood pouring profusely from my chest. If I didn't get this out soon, Price would be dead and then Shepard would move right on to me. The knife was still stuck in my chest so I started to push with my left hand. This was probably the most painful thing that had ever happened in my life. Finally, with one final push, the knife was out. Then, I swiveled it around so I held it by the blade. This was ending now. I looked at Shepard, and just as I threw the knife, he looked at me. The knife went right into his left eye, blood spraying out. It was over. Shepard was dead. It didn't matter if I lived or died now. The mission was complete. I honestly thought that I was going to die there in the Afghan desert. But Price had other plans. He started coughing, kicked Shepard's body off of him, then looked at me.

"Soap." He barely whispered before crawling over to me "Soap!" He said _way_ louder

That was the last thing I heard before losing consciousness again. When I woke up, Price was above me, applying a bandage to my chest. The sand started to get kicked up a lot more, and I could faintly hear a whirring sound. Price looked up, holding a hand in front of his face.

"It'll hold for now. Come on, get up!" Price said

What he wanted me to do and what I could do were two very different things. I felt like all of my limbs had a hundred pound weights attached to them. As Price pulled me up, I got a good look at Shepard's body and the knife sticking out of his face. _Serves ya right, ya bastard._ I looked ahead of us and saw a Little Bird had landed and someone was coming out of it. Nikolai.

"I thought I told you this was a one way trip." Price said

"Looks like it still is. They'll be looking for us, you know." Nikolai retorted

Then, I felt my legs give out from under me and faintly saw Nikolai rush forward and help me up. The two of them were holding me up completely now.

"Nikolai, we've got to get Soap out of here." Price said, his tone had never been more serious

"Da. I know a place." I heard Nikolai say before I blacked out completely

 **QoC: Do you think that if a female was added to Metal Team, there would be too many OCs? Why or why not?**


	12. Persona Non Grata

**Tracking… Found**

 **Captain John Price**

 **Task Force 141 Disavowed**

 **Indian Airspace**

 **A.N. Hey guys, what's up? Finished another chapter, and I decided to start off with Persona Non Grata first before I went to Black Tuesday and Hunter Killer, because I looked it up on a wikia, and this mission happens before the other two. I also incorporated a reference to another CoD game in this chapter, just to change it up a bit. So, please R+R, PM, and enjoy. OPKILLERFROST, out.**

"Nikolai, what's our ETA?" I said into the headset

"About one hour Captain Price." Nikolai responded

I had a bad feeling about Soap. I don't think the lad will last much longer without professional medical assistance. And because it'd be suicide to go to a hospital, our only choice was Nikolai's safe house in Himachal Pradesh. I knew Makarov would find us one way or another, because with Shepard out of the picture, there were no 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' shit. Now, it was just us and Makarov. And we. Will. Kill him.

 **Ghost's POV**

I felt the pain before I even woke up. It was agonizing and everywhere. I tried to open my eyes, but if I opened them even a little bit, the light coming in was too strong. _Am I in hell? Or am I in heaven? I can't fucking tell with the pain and the bright light._ I tried opening my eyes again, and this time the light wasn't as bad. When I finally got them all the way open, I looked around the room. The room was pretty bare, with the exception of a couple chairs and the medical equipment keeping me alive. I looked to my left and saw Lily was fast asleep next to me. She looked so peaceful when she slept. It was probably the only time any of us could escape this hell we called reality. I was just about to say something and wake her when shouting erupted from the hallway.

"Out of the bloody way! Get a doctor!" A familiar British accent yelled

Lily awoke and looked around the room until her eyes locked onto mine.

"Ghost." She said, her eyes filling with tears

"Hey." I said weakly, while smiling up at her

"The doctor said he didn't know if you'd ever wake up. You had been injured so much, I- I thought I lost you."

Tears were coming down her face now, and I felt like an ass. _I_ had caused her to feel so much pain. If I hadn't gotten shot, she wouldn't be out of her mind with worry right now. But then again, how was I supposed to know Shepard was going to shoot me and Roach and- Roach. I almost forgot he was injured to.

"How's- How's Roach?" I croaked out

"He's fine. He still hasn't woken up yet. He's in worse shape than you."

"He's a hard bastard. He'll make it."

"Yeah, Ghost, I-"

She was interrupted by a soldier bursting into the room. I didn't recognize him, but yet again, I didn't know where I was. This sure as hell wasn't Firebase Phoenix.

"Captain Price requests to see you." The soldier said

"Where is he?" Lil asked

"Um, I'm sorry Miss. He requested to speak to him."

"Oh. Well, I'll leave you two to talk then." She said

"Love you." I said, barely getting it above a whisper

She didn't say anything, just nodded and walked out of the room. After she walked out, Captain Price walked in. He looked like hammered shit. Bruises were all over his face, he had a cut just below his left eye, his nose was a little crooked, he just didn't look to good.

"Ghost." He said, looking at me a little strangely

Then, I realized that this was the first time he'd seen me without my mask on. The man was seeing my face for the first time.

"Price." I acknowledged

"What happened in Russia?" He asked

"We got the DSM, and ran for the LZ. Roach was hit by a mortar, so I carried him to the LZ. Shepard landed and said something about us being 'loose ends' and shot Roach and me. Then he set us on fire. Bastard had his Shadow Company soldiers come in and poured gasoline on us and lit us with his cigar."

"Well he's dealt with. Soap and I took care of him."

That put me at ease a little more. To know that Shepard was dead and that he couldn't do any more harm made me feel a little easier.

"But it didn't come without a price. Soap was injured bad in the fight. He's touch and go right now."

And then I was tense again. My best friend was dying? We'd been through so much and he was brought down by that asshole? No. He was going to pull through. Always has, always will. He can't die. He always slipped out of Death's clutches. How'd you think he got the name Soap? Before we could continue our conversation, Nikolai and another soldier ran into the room.

"We're picking up inbound signatures." The soldier said

"We've got company." Nikolai said

 _Gee, Nikolai, what gave you that idea? Was it maybe the guy next to you saying we've got inbound signatures?_

"It's Makarov. He's tying up loose ends. Who's your best man?" Price asked

"Yuri. Ex-Spetznaz. Only man I know who hates Makarov more than you."

"Get him. They'll use the ridgeline for cover and fly in from the south."

"How do you know?"

"It's what I'd do."

Nikolai and the other man left the room, and I started to get up, but Price stopped me.

"Oh no you don't. Stay here. You need to rest." He said

"Like I can do that while gunfights ensue around me? Thanks, but no thanks." I said, pushing my way past him and ignoring the intense pain everywhere. I looked down and saw I was in a hospital gown.

"Ghost, do you really think you can fight in your condition?"

"I'll give it my best shot."

"Fine." He said, then put a hand up to his headset "Nikolai, get Ghost some gear."

He listened for a minute before responding "He's being stubborn. Just do it."

Price then ran past me and into the hallway. A minute later, a soldier came in and handed me some clothes. I grabbed them and threw on the long-sleeved shirt, cargo pants, vest, and holster. I rolled up the sleeves on the shirt, then I noticed something was missing. Two somethings. I ran out into the hall and noticed a bald guy running past me, into a room down the hall.

"Yuri! Yuri, over here!" I heard Nikolai call

I ran down the hall and saw MacTavish on a table grabbing Yuri by the shirt and coughing up blood. There was a doctor on the other side of the table working furiously on the wound in 'Tavish's chest. I went into the room and saw Nikolai standing next to Yuri and Price next to the doctor.

"We need to get Soap to the Chopper!" Price yelled over the chatter coming over the radio

We all heard a whirring sound and looked to the other side of the room. Three doors stood, to what I presumed to be balcony access.

"What is that?" Nikolai was the one to question the sound

Then, a second later, the wall exploded and sent us all flying, wood splinters shooting through the air. I flew back and hit my spine on the doorframe which, by the way, hurt like a bitch with the second-degree burns back there.

"Is everyone alright?" Price asked

I didn't respond, and got up as the chopper, which I now realized was an Mi-28 Havoc fell out of the wall and to the ground below. _I hope nobody was under that._ Nikolai grabbed Yuri's shoulder and pointed at Price.

"Do whatever this man says!" He said before helping the doctor with Soap's wound

Price looked at Yuri and told him to take position on the balcony outside. _Huh, I was right. Those doors were balcony access._ I didn't stop to think about that too long, however, because I noticed troops were fast roping down from Mi-17s. I looked towards Nikolai before asking if he had a gun.

"Armory's across the hall." He said

I ran out of the room and opened a door. What was behind it was enough firepower to make a gun fanatic cry. I grabbed an AK-47 with a red dot and a Desert Eagle before hearing a loud explosion.

"They've breached the courtyard! Take them down!" I heard Price yell

I grabbed a headset and as much ammo as I could and ran back to Soap's room, closing the door behind me. Soldiers in black armor were storming the courtyard outside through the entrance on the far side. I started shooting at the Ultranationalists moving in until one of them popped smoke. I looked at it and it reminded me too much of Makarov's safe house. I almost didn't notice when another Havoc came in and shot at us, killing the doctor.

"Price! The doctor's down!" Nikolai yelled "Yuri! We need your help!"

Yuri stayed on the balcony and continued to shoot before Nikolai called to him again. This time, he ran over to the table 'Tavish was on and picked up a syringe and injected Soap with its contents. Price was standing by the door when an Ultranationalist kicked open the door. The soldier aimed his gun at Price, but couldn't get a shot off before Price hit his gun away, hit him in the gut with his gun, then drew his pistol and shot the poor bastard in the head. He never stood a chance against a legend like Price. Yet again, I've heard of my fair share of legends. Captain MacMillan, Lieutenant Vasquez, Alex Mason, Frank Woods.

"They're on the roof! We've got to get Soap to the chopper!" Price yelled

"What about Roach? He's still out. We can't just leave him." I said

"We won't! We'll find a way to get him out of here! For now, we need to get Soap to Nikolai's Little Bird!"

"I've got him!" Nikolai said, pulling Soap up onto his shoulders

"Yuri, you're with me! Ghost, go help the others get out of here!"

"Roger that!" I said, running out the door

I just hope I can get to Roach before the Ultranationalists do.

 **Yuri's POV**

I didn't know these new men too much. Price and Ghost. Strange names. I didn't know if I could trust them, but if Nikolai did, then I could. At least for now. I went with Price into the hallway, while Ghost ran down the hall towards his friend Roach's room. Another strange name. I hadn't met him but, he was apparently a friend. Price and I moved towards the stairs, but before we got there, more of Makarov's soldiers burst through the windows.

"Yuri, over here!" Price yelled, dodging bullets

I took cover behind some supply crates and shot at the two Ultranationalists. They dropped dead, and we moved up.

"Down the stairs, move!" Price said "Ghost, have you found Roach yet?"

"Affirmative. I'm with Desert, Hazard, Archer, Toad, and Neon moving him to another helicopter. The Ultranationalists are slowing us down, but we're almost there." I heard Ghost say over the radio

"Roger. We're moving into the courtyard now. RV at the lower end of the village."

"Roger that."

I continued to follow Price into the courtyard and past the Havoc that crashed into that man Soap's room.

"Yuri, on me! We've got to get through the courtyard!"

I followed Price through as we emptied the area of the Ultranationalist scum. As we were fighting, I heard a Loyalist call over the radio that they were pinned down and needed help. We finally killed the last enemy soldier and exited the courtyard through the broken doorway.

"The courtyard's clear!" a Loyalist called to his comrades

Price and I went down a flight of stairs and stacked up at an iron gate. I could hear gunfire and screaming coming from the village below. We took a minute to reload our weapons. I heard a whirring sound, and looked up to see a UAV drone. Great just what we needed right now.

"Russian drone overhead! We're outnumbered and outgunned. We need some heavier firepower!" Price yelled

"There's a weapons cache at the edge of town! We have a UGV stored there." Nikolai informed us

"Then we'll use that to get to the chopper! Let's move!" Price said, kicking down the gate. We started to run down another flight of stairs when a wave of civilians started running towards us with Ultranationalists right behind them, shooting into the masses.

"Hold fire! Civilians!" Price yelled back to me

I didn't want to listen, but I did. Better be safe than sorry. While it was tragic that they were dying at the Ultranationalist's hands, but it would be worse if we accidentally killed one when they could've lived. We ran and took cover behind burned out and bullet riddled cars. I peeked out to shoot an Ultranationalist, but before I could pull the trigger, a car came through, running him over and crashing. He hit a propane tank and the car exploded. Poor bastard.

"Watch the balconies! Nikolai, hang back! Protect Soap!" Price yelled as we ran down the street "Doorway! Right side!"

I looked to my right and shot down a soldier standing in the doorway of a house. It was such a terrible thing. Families had lived peacefully here until that psychopath Makarov sent his troops in to uproot their lives.

"Keep moving down the street! We've got to get Soap out of here!" Price yelled "Ghost! Give me a sitrep!"

"We've made it to the chopper, sir. We're waiting for your go to get out of here."

"Roger that! We're making our way over to the weapons cache to commandeer a UGV to aid in extraction. Hold position for now."

"Roger that."

As I listened, I noticed that Ghost could be incredibly professional at some points, but at others, he lets his emotions get the best of him. It's a trait that's going to get him killed.

"Machine gunner, main balcony! Take him out!" Price yelled to me

I took cover behind a car and looked through one of the windows. Sure enough, at the end of the street, an Ultranationalist was manning an MG and it was taking its toll on our ranks. I pulled out from behind cover and aimed over the hood, then fired three bullets into the machine gunner's chest. Two more soldiers ran up to the balcony, but I cut them down before they even came close to manning that MG. I started moving up when another Mi-17 started dropping off more troops. I tried shooting them down before their boots hit the ground, but one or two made it down. I heard that whirring sound again right as Price yelled out to me.

"The drone's doing another pass!"

I ran to the doorway where I shot down the Ultranationalist earlier. I leapt over his body and took cover in the house. I was _not_ going to be killed by a drone. Not after all the shit I've been through. I saw the drone's missiles hit the street, causing several cars to explode. When the drone passed, I followed Price down the street and around the corner.

"The chopper's this way!" Price yelled

We cleared the street of hostiles and turned left down an alley. At the end was a wall with a big iron gate. On the other side, Ultranationalists were positioned and waiting. This was going to be fun to get around.

"The weapons building is directly ahead!" Nikolai said, finally catching up to us

Price and I approached the gate, but the Russians started firing before we got close.

"There's too many of them between us and the chopper. Nikolai, we need that UGV now!" Price growled

"You're almost there! Go through the building!" Nikolai suggested

"Yuri, this way! Yuri, over here!"

 _I heard you the first time. It's not like you I'm deaf. I've been listening to you so far, haven't I?_ We went through a house to our right, and inside was not a pretty sight. There were multiple families, holding onto their relatives, others, their spouses, and children. There were dead and dying everywhere. And to think that all of this was cause by Price and the people he brought here. We moved to the back door where another Loyalist waited with a shotgun.

"Breaching!" He called out as he blasted the hinges and kicked down the door

We ran out the door and the street was full of dead civilians. _Rest in peace._ Price turned left down the street, not even fazed by the dead bodies. How? I mean, sure, I'd seen dead bodies before, hell, I've made a few. But the ones you kill don't affect you the same way ones of the people you know or innocents do. It wasn't right that these people had to die just because they were between the Ultranationalists and Price. He continued down the street until he made it to the last house. He stepped up onto the porch.

"Hold up. This is it." He said "Get inside!"

I heard the drone come back as he opened the door and we stepped inside. The Ultranationalists must be hitting the village hard with the drone because the building started to shake violently.

"The UGV is in a shipping crate directly below you." Nikolai's voice came in over the radio

Price bent down and pulled up a hatch in the floor. Below it was a flight of stairs that led into darkness. Price pulled out a flashlight and we went down the stairs. As we made our way down, the building shook again, and dust rained from the ceiling. Price shined his light across the room and the beam stopped on a gigantic shipping crate with the number 526 on it.

"I see it." Price said as the building shook again

He walked over to it, then set his light down on a nearby crate. He picked up a crowbar and pried open the crate, the front of it falling to the ground. Price walked around to the front, then bent down to pull the UGV out of the crate.

"Unmanned ground vehicle. 2 centimeter armor plating, mounted mini-gun, and grenade launcher. Controls are going to be in Russian. Yuri, you're up." Price said

I walked over to the other side of the room where a computer sat on a table next to a garage door. I started typing on the keyboard and watched the screen."[SISTEMA ZAGRUZKI]" [СИСТЕМА ЗАГРУЗКИ] **[LOADING SYSTEM].** Finally, the UGV's cam feed came onto the screen.

"Nikolai, what's Soap's condition?" Price asked behind me

"We've got to get him out of here!"

"Yuri, clear a path to the chopper. We'll be right behind you!"

You mean right behind the UGV. I'll still be back here controlling the damn thing.

"That minigun will punch right through walls!" Price yelled

Yeah, I know. I spooled up the minigun and shot down the soldiers before they were even aware of the UGV's presence.

"Use your grenade launcher!"

 **(Come on, Price. Does he look like he's Ramirez?)** I aimed upwards and shot the Havoc, taking it down with two grenades. To the UGV's left, there was a playground with cars scattered around. I shot at any Ultranationalists that were left and they fell quickly. I continued down the road, where more soldiers were running up a hill towards me.

"Clear a path!" Price yelled as I mowed them down quickly and continued down the path they just took, shooting more UNs **(Ultranationalists. It was getting annoying writing that out a bunch of times.)**

I turned left and saw more UNs running out of a building. I riddled them with bullets then turned to my right, where scaffolding was set up to make up for where a former attack caused the road to be obliterated and fall down to the river below. I worked my way across and turned left to see more UNs taking position on scaffolding covering a three story building. I shot at them and they fell. Literally. The scaffolding collapsed, killing anybody I missed with the minigun. I continued up a hill until I saw the Little Bird. UNs were positioned all around it, and I cut into their ranks with ease. I saw on the corner of the screen that two more Mi-17s were making their way over, so I shot them down with the grenade launcher before they even got close. A Havoc came from where the Mi-17s were and it soon joined them as wreckage in the forest.

"Yuri, we're moving up! Keep them pinned down!" Price yelled "Ghost! Get the bird spinning up!"

"Roger that!" Ghost yelled into the radio

I winced because of how loud he was. He must've been pretty desperate to get out of there if he was that loud. I continued to soot at the UNs as I saw Price and Nikolai come into view on the bottom of the screen.

"We're at the chopper! Loading Soap now!" Price informed me

Not like I needed him to. I could see everything he was doing on the monitor. Then, the entire screen started flashing red.

"Drone inbound!" Price yelled

I watched as a missile exploded, tipping the UGV over. The screen started fuzzing out as the drone flew past. Shit.

"Yuri! Run to the chopper! Move! Go! Go!" Price yelled to me as I took off running

I crossed the dead UN soldiers bodies and ran down the hill. I turned right onto the scaffolding and felt the ground go out from under me as I heard an explosion.

"Look out!" Price yelled as I continued to slide down

The drone flew past, as if to say _yeah, I'm sending you to your death. What you gonna do about it?_ I started to slide down the hill as debris and barrels, well, barreled down past me. They crashed into a house built into the hillside and caused it to collapse. Right in my fucking path too. I clawed my way across the ground, desperate to get out of the way of the pile of concrete and steel. I dodged it and then continued to slide until I hit the edge of the cliff- where it dropped off at least a hundred feet into a raging river. I surfaced for a moment and saw the Little Bird but was pulled under by the current. I clawed at anything I could grab, trying to break the surface of the water. The edges of my vision was getting dark when I finally grabbed something. It was a tree root. I clutched onto it as the current tried to drag me with it. But I held on and grabbed onto a nearby rock, pulling myself out of the river and onto dry land. I collapsed onto the rocks and tree roots that were my saviors. I started to go unconscious, managed to hear a piece of conversation.

"There he is! There's Yuri!" Nikolai called

"Good. We'll need him. We're going after Makarov." Price said

"Who the bloody hell's Yuri?" a man with a Scottish accent asked

I didn't think about who it was, nor did I care at the moment. All I cared about was falling asleep after and exhausting day.

 **QoC: Now that we're in MW3, whose team do you think I should focus on more? Team Metal or Task Force 141?**


	13. Black Tuesday

**Tracking… Found**

 **Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook**

 **Metal Team, Delta Force**

 **Manhattan, New York**

 **A.N. Hey guys, what's up? I decided I would put Black Tuesday and Hunter Killer into this chapter, so I hope you guys like it. I'm still kind of partial on the idea of a new OC on Metal Team, so there will just be the four in the game. However, I did create a new OC, and if you guys want her on Metal, I'll add her. But it's all up to you guys. It would help a lot if some of you sent some ideas in a Review or PM. So, with that in mind, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. OPKILLERFROST, out.**

"Yo, Derek, let's go! We're moving out!" Jim called out to me from outside the tent

"Where we goin'?" I asked him

"Manhattan."

 _Yay._ Just when I thought I was going to get a break and get to go to sleep, we were moving out yet again. These Russians were _really_ starting to get on my nerves. They just never quit. It was like they were machines, programmed to never stop until their prime directives were achieved. **(Robocop reference for those who didn't catch that)** I got up, pulling on my balaclava, goggles and helmet before walking outside into the bright September morning. Would be a nice day to come here if the Russians hadn't fucked any chance of that happening. I looked around until I saw Jim walking towards August, Liam, and Jake. I should probably start using their call-signs now that we're going into battle. Now, I saw Jim as Grinch, August as Truck, Liam as Redcell, and Jake as our leader, Sandman. I was the youngest and lowest ranked out of everybody. A sergeant. At least the others were still sergeants. Just a couple ranks above me. Either way, I was still the "baby" of the group. I hated it when Grinch used that reference. I met up with the others and Truck gave me a nod. I just nodded back and looked towards Sandman. He had his hand to his ear, looking like he was listening to an incoming transmission.

"Copy all- we'll get it done." He said finally

"What's the plan, boss?" Truck asked

"Move in to the Stock Exchange and neutralize an enemy jammer on the roof. Let's go."

Truck and Grinch climbed into the back of the Humvee in front of us, while we got in ours. Redcell was driving, Sandman was next to him, and I was in the back behind Redcell. We pulled out of the park and began the trek to Manhattan. _Can't wait for what surprises they throw at us next._ I could tell already that today was going to be a _long_ day. But for now, I'll close my eyes and get some shut eye until we get there.

Next thing I know, somebody's yelling something and we're crashing. Their screaming woke me up from my sleep. I didn't hear what he said, so I was about to tell him to shut the hell up when the Humvee crashed and tipped over. _What the hell was that? Nice driving Redcell._

"Frost. Frost!" I heard Sandman yell above me

I opened my eyes and everything was blurry for a minute until it came into focus. I saw that the front of the Humvee was on fire and there was loose wiring everywhere, sparking. I looked up and saw Sandman struggling with his seatbelt. He stopped for a moment, and pulled out his knife.

"Get switched on! We gotta move, now!" He said

I looked at the front seat to rouse Redcell, when I saw the shrapnel embedded in his neck. He was dead. Staff Sergeant Liam Truman was dead. I wasn't the greatest of pals with Liam, but he was a teammate and always had my back when I needed the help. He was a good man. Continuing on with the mission, I climbed upwards, to the door above me. I put my feet against the metal stand for the gunner, and pushed the door open. As I did so, two missiles came in and hit a skyscraper above us, causing the surrounding floors to explode in a fireball. Debris rained down, and the largest piece, a metal support beam, hit a taxi not fifteen feet from our Humvee. A little more wind push and Sandman and I would be with Liam right now. That helps put things in perspective. It's the littlest things in life that matter the most. If someone's alarm clock went off, rather than when it didn't, they'd still have their job. If there were more wind today, I'd be dead. I knew I was overthinking this, but it helped take my mind off the fact that I was in a war. I dropped down from the side of the Humvee. I looked down the street we were on and saw Truck and Grinch engaging hostiles, with the support of a Stryker. When the hell did we get a Stryker's assistance? We must've met up with it while I was out. A second later, Sandman dropped down next to me and tossed me a mag. I locked and loaded my M4A1, then switched the hybrid scope so it gave enhanced zoom. I looked back to Sandman.

"The jammer's five hundred meters north! We'll leg it from here! Let's go!" Sandman yelled

I ran forward and took cover behind a news stand. I peeked around the corner of the news stand, but I couldn't get a good look at anything before the side of the stand exploded into a shower of sparks. One of those assholes had a bead on my position and I would be screwed if nobody took him down. Fuck this. Nobody was coming to my aid. I grabbed a nine-banger off my belt. These babies hurt. R&D had just finished developing them, and now they're at our disposal. I liked them. They're like concussion grenades, except for the fact that they go off nine times. If you get hit with one, I suggest you hit the deck and play dead, because you're about to be screwed. I tossed the grenade, then waited until all nine of the bursts were over before coming out of cover. With most of the Russians dazed, I took out the ones closest to me before running for cover behind a couple supply crates. There were three of them, with me at their long side. One was stacked on another, sitting up against a building, while another was sitting right next to the stacked two. It's like Ivan wanted it to be easy to hide and shoot them. I mean, the stacked two provided cover while the other one provided a platform for shooting.

"More crows inbound! Dead ahead!" Truck yelled

I looked out and saw more soldiers and an armored truck pull into the street. _This'll be fun._ The truck looked like the Russian version of our Humvees with the gunner sticking through the roof. He swiveled his gun towards me and fired. The crates and sidewalk got riddled with high caliber bullets, but I was fine.

"Russian armor incoming!" Grinch yelled

"Thanks for the heads up." I said to myself

"Take cover! Take cover!" Truck said

Gee, Truck, what the hell do you think I'm doing? I mean, when I see an armored truck with an angry Russian pointing a gun that looks like it might hurt, you'd think my first instinct would be to hide where he can't shoot me, right? Apparently Truck thinks otherwise. I mean, come on man. What're you going to yell next? Pull that curved thing on near your finger to hurt the bad guys? God damn. I looked out from behind cover and saw that the gunner was focused on the rest of my squad. I aimed down my sights and shot the bastard in the head. Soon enough the rest of the Russians were dealt with and we moved up to an intersection. I heard a rumbling sound, and we all aimed down our sights. After a moment of sitting there, a Stryker and about two or three dozen Rangers and Delta Operatives came running down the street, moving right towards the Stock Exchange.

"Friendlies! Hold your fire!" Sandman announced

Grinch however, was still aiming down his sights, right at all the friendly soldiers.

"That means don't shoot 'em Grinch." Truck joked

"No shit." Grinch retorted, annoyed by the remark

Grinch was one of the types of guys that could deal out hits, but didn't like it when they received 'em. Yet again, isn't almost everybody that way? Same thing with warfare. You shoot enemies all the time, no matter which side you're on, but when you get hit by a bullet, or flak, or shrapnel, it fucking sucks. But I digress. We followed the men to the right and the Exchange came into view. There was a tattered American Flag hanging from its pillars, but it was a welcome sight among all these Russians.

"Eyes on the Exchange! Left side, dead ahead!" Sandman called out

"Roger I see it!" Truck yelled back to him

There was just one problem with getting to it. There was a fucking wall of debris in the way. And then it got better, Russians appeared from it, creating even more of a barrier between us and their precious jammer.

"Contact front! Hostiles in the open!" Grinch called out

This was getting unbelievable. Like I said, these guys are fucking machines. I took cover behind a burned out taxi and opened fire on the Russians. I heard a cry of pain and looked to my left. A Delta Operative had taken a bullet to the calf and was on the ground. I grabbed the handle on his plate carrier and dragged him behind cover. I called over a medic and continued to shoot at the Russians. Then just to rub it in, a Havoc helicopter appeared behind them.

"Heads up! Bird incoming!" Truck yelled

I swear to god if he doesn't stop stating the obvious? I mean, we can all see the fucking bird. Truck is a good guy, but if you look up Captain Obvious in the dictionary, you'll find a big ass picture of his face. Trying to ignore him, I shot at any Russians continuing to advance on us. Meanwhile, the Havoc kept shooting down our guys. A moment later, the medic working on the downed Operative was hit.

"Join the Army they said. Be all you can be they said." I muttered to myself

"Tell me about it." The Operative said

I couldn't help but notice his voice was a couple octaves too high for a man. After a closer look, I realized that the person I previously thought of as a "he" was a "she". How did I miss that?

"Get off the street! Go right! Go right! C'mon, Frost, let's go!" Sandman yelled, running for the entrance to a lobby

I turned to the downed Operative. "Can you walk?" I asked

"With help." She said

I wasn't about to leave her behind to get slaughtered by the Russians. That wasn't how I did things. I believed in the saying "No Man Gets Left Behind" even if that "man" happens to be a woman. I grabbed her arm, threw it around my shoulder, then put my right arm around her waist. I handed her my gun.

"Give us covering fire." I said

We started moving and she was doing an alright job at keeping those bastards off of us. Within seconds, we made it inside with the others. We continued through the building as the others talked.

"So what's the gameplan?" Truck asked

"Same as before. Burn the jammer, kill the bad guys." Sandman said

"I like it." Grinch commented childishly, but then again, this is Grinch we're talking about

We went up a flight of stairs, as an explosion shook the building. I hope it was that Havoc going down. As we got to the top of the stairs, I was about to put her down against the railing, but before I could do so, Truck noticed there was one more of us than there should've been.

"What about her?"

I set her down on the ground, and took my gun back. She nodded her thanks to me. At least, I think it was her thanks.

"Who's this?" Sandman asked, slightly annoyed

"Would you like my callsign or my name?" She asked from the ground

I was surprised. I had never heard anybody address someone who outranked them like that. It just wasn't normal. If you a subordinate to somebody, you address them properly, or get the shit beat out of you.

"Callsign will do for now." Sandman said gruffly

"Midnight."

"Where's you unit?"

"Dead or dying. I'm all that's left."

Sandman turned around and put his hand up to talk to Overlord. I could hear over the comms, so I had no need to try and hear what they were talking about.

"Overlord, requesting immediate MedEvac, we have a man down." He said

There was nothing but white noise. We should've thought that comms would be down with the jammer up, but who would think of that? I mean, it's not like that's our entire reason for being on this island right now.

"Damnit." Sandman said "Alright, Grinch, Truck, stay here with her. Hold till my signal. Frost, you're with me."

"What're we doing with her?" Grinch asked, nudging the stock of his gun in her direction

"We'll find out what to do with her later. Right now, we need to get that jammer down."

"Rog'."

Sandman walked off towards an apartment door, and I looked back at Midnight uneasily before following him. We stacked up on either side and Sandman kicked the door in. As soon as I saw that the floor was collapsed, creating a ramp to the floor above. Two Russians appeared, but I shot them down, reloading almost immediately afterward.

"Let's keep moving!" Sandman yelled

We ran up the ramp, and the apartment continued around a corner to the right. We went around it, and there was a gigantic hole in the side of the building, allowing me to see through to the floors directly above and below us. Sitting in the middle of the mess was a Havoc. That must've been what that explosion was. Someone took it out. At least it wasn't causing more problems. I was jarred from my thoughts when Sandman yelled.

"Threat, twelve o'clock, high!"

I looked to the floor above and two more Russians were sitting there. _These Ruskies sure do like to die, don't they?_ Sandman and I took them out quickly and continued through the apartment. We didn't get very far until three or four more hostiles showed up. We dispatched them and headed through the apartment, exited through a stairwell in the back corner. As we continued down, Sandman contacted the others.

"Grinch, Truck, tighten up." He said, then to me "Maintain the timeline. We need to hit the exchange."

 _Why are you telling just me? I'm not the one slowing people down. Yet again, I did stop to take the time to save somebody, so there's that. But that's justifiable. I was saving a life._ We hit the bottom of the stairs, and saw an ajar alleyway door. We stacked up and Sandman whispered to me.

"Multiple voices, alley behind the door. Frost, toss a nine-banger."

I grabbed one off my belt and pulled the pin, then through it out into the alley. I heard a yell before the nine bangs and screams of pain telling me that they were hit good. Sandman pushed the door open, and I shot the hostiles outside. One was in the middle of the alley, and the other was halfway down the stairs. They both dropped within seconds. I noticed a dumpster nearby, and looked down on their bodies. I thought for a moment about throwing them in the trash, where they belonged. These men were monsters for invading our country. Regardless of what they thought, they could've tried to solve this peacefully. But where's the fun in that? I mean, wouldn't it be better to kill every American civilian rather than find a solution without any more bloodshed? The Russians apparently think so. I looked up from the bodies to see Grinch, Truck, and Midnight coming down the stairs. I saw that she was walking on her own, which was weird.

"I thought that you couldn't walk?" I said to her

She looked over at me, then at her leg before answering.

"Truck patched me up and gave me painkillers. Can't feel the pain, so I'm back in the fight." She said

"Good. This route should take us back out to Wall Street. Jammer's not far. Watch the windows and doors- double check the shadows." Sandman said

We started to climb the stairs the one Russian was on. I kicked his body as we passed, while Midnight picked up his AK-47 and ammo. I guess she had to get a gun from somewhere.

"Truck, you getting anything on your comms?" Grinch asked, I guess the guy was curious if they're still down

"Nothing but static. The jammer's got us in the dark." He replied

We continued up the stairs before entering a building on the second floor. At first, it appeared to be a bank because there was an open vault in the room we were in. The other side of the room held a door that led to the rest of the building.

"Hold up. Quiet." Sandman hissed

We listened and I could hear Russian from downstairs. Things were about to get ugly again.

"Shooters in the store below. Switch 'em off?" Grinch said quietly

"Roger that."

We went through the door and I noticed we were on a balcony in a jewelry store. That explained the vault. I looked over the railing and prayed to god that there were enough shadows to hide me. The store was crawling with Russians. There were at least a dozen of them, snooping around. One of them fired their gun, and I whipped my head towards them, fearing that we were spotted. But no, he was just shooting a dead soldier in the head. I swear to God, I'm going to kill every last one of these vodka drinking motherfucking pricks that thought they could come here and fucking shit on everything that I love. I couldn't just stand by and watch them execute fallen soldiers, so I started shooting. I managed to take out at least five of them before they knew what hit them. 5.56x45mm NATO rounds, gotta love 'em. Soon enough, the rest of the team joined me, but the Russians just kept coming through a hole where the door should be. It was getting annoying.

"Grinch, take up overwatch while we clear the store!" Sandman yelled

"I'm on it." He said, continuing to fire into the masses of the Russians

We went downstairs and continued to fight. I threw some frags to thin them out, but it didn't do much. Our only hope was to move through the store and stop them from getting in. And it eventually worked. After about ten minutes, they started thinning out and we were able to leave the store.

"Head west to the street! Go!" Sandman said

Grinch came down and started to leave with us, when he stopped and aimed his gun at the hole in the wall. Moments later, another Delta Team came running through.

"Hold fire! Anvil Team approaching!" Sandman yelled, pushing Grinch's gun down

We moved through the hole and followed Anvil. Apparently Sandman knew them if he could identify the team without asking.

"Anybody hit?" Sandman asked

"We're good!" Their leader said

"What's the sit-rep on mid-town?"

"The Russians have it locked down. They're kicking our ass. We can't get through!"

"Any word on air support?"

"Still nothing! Guidance systems are scrambled! We need to get that jammer down!"

It seemed as though we weren't the only ones informed of the jammer's presence. Yet again, it wasn't that hard to figure out that the reason that we had no comms wasn't because your radio might be turned off.

"Then let's move!" Sandman said

We moved up towards the exchange. It was about fifty meters away. So close. Yet so fucking far. There were dozens of troops in our way, not to mention enemy armor, destroyed or not. I took cover behind a destroyed BTR and took the time to check my ammo. I had four mags left on my M4, one frag, two nine-bangers, and full ammo for my XM-25. _My XM-25!_ I had almost forgotten that I had it. How, I don't know because the launcher was a good ten pounds. I pulled it out and aimed at the Russians. A few were hiding among the pillars of the Federal Hall National Monument building. I fired two of the four grenades in the mag, killing most of the hostiles. Anvil moved up with Grinch up to the building. One of them almost was hit by a truck's gunner. I poked out from behind cover and shot the gunner, causing the Ruskies around him to go flying. Most of the tangos were thinned out, and we continued towards the building.

"Target building up ahead! Push forward!" Sandman ordered

Now who's becoming Captain Obvious? What the hell do you think we're doing? Moonwalking to the Empire State Building? How I put up with these guys was a mystery. We moved in on the building and killed whatever Russians had decided to stick around and try to fight.

"Inside the Stock Exchange! Let's move!" Sandman called

We ran inside, and I saw the welcome sight of ammo crates. I walked over to one and grabbed as much ammo as I could. After I was done, coming out five pounds heavier, the rest of my team went upstairs, with Midnight following close behind.

"We'll secure the lobby while you hit the trading floor." Anvil's leader said

"Roger that. Metal, let's roll." Sandman said

I followed them up the broken escalators and turned left. Through a doorway at my twelve, was the entrance to the trading floor. And it was crawling with Ivan. They started shooting before we stepped two feet from the stairs.

"Contact!" Truck yelled

 _Going to ignore it. Just. Have. To. Ignore. It._ I ran into the room and took cover, before returning fire on the Russians.

"Charge to contact! Let's keep moving!" Sandman commanded

"Providing cover fire. Move up!" Grinch said, standing up with his rifle

We ran forward while Grinch stayed back, protecting us. We made it halfway across the room before getting bogged down again. I leaned out of cover and shot a Russian running our way, his body tumbling over itself. We had to get out of here, and Sandman must've had the same thoughts.

"Go!" He yelled

"Gotcha covered!" Grinch said

"Stay together!"

We ran across the rest of the room, shooting down any hostiles in our way. By now, we were near scaffolding that went all the way up to the catwalk up above. That was how we'd get to the jammer.

"Up top! Go, go, go!" Sandman bellowed

I ran to the scaffolding, realizing that there were stairs leading up before it turned to construction equipment. I saw movement to my left and saw hostiles moving across a balcony slightly below us.

I heard Sandman yell "Hop the rail!" and Grinch "On the balcony!" at the same time. I looked in front of me and saw a marble railing, so I hopped over it onto the scaffolding. By now, the balcony was below us, so I ran forward to the edge of the structure and shot at the Ruskies thinking it was smart to do the same to us. Idiots. With the help of Midnight, we cleared the balcony of hostiles. At least we weren't going to get shot in the ass now.

"Balcony's clear!" Grinch announced

I turned and went up a set of metal stairs, which led up to the top of the scaffolding. By now, we were high enough that we could see the entire trading floor. It was a mess, littered with dead bodies. But what're you going to do?

"Frost, up the ladder, we're on your six." Sandman said

I was confused for a moment, until I noticed the thin stacked poles to my left. I walked over carefully. I didn't know how stable the catwalk was, and I wasn't eager to find out. I heard the others start to fire, and I saw Russians running through the entrance. Anvil must've been over run. Poor bastards. Rest in peace. I climbed up the ladder, as an explosion went off, sending dust falling down on my head. A Havoc flew over and fired its missiles. _I swear, if we have to fight that thing, I'm going to be pissed._ I got up on the roof and bullets started flying at my head. For a minute, I thought that the Havoc was back, but the rounds were too small to be coming from the chopper. I took cover behind a ventilation duct, and peaked out over it. Up above, on a second tier, were two Russians while two were already down here with me. Shit. I could _really_ use some backup right about now. What happened to 'we're on your six'? I ducked down even farther as a barrage of bullets hit the other side of the duct, a couple going through to my side. I took a nine-banger and tossed it over my shoulder. I heard the bangs, the screams, and I took my opportunity. I jumped up, and shot all four of them. As I came closer to the stairs, another Russian ran up a platform where a door was. I shot him and continued up. I didn't get much farther before I saw a wall of Russians aiming their guns at me. _Son of a bitch._ I thought before feeling a heavy weight slam into me and a bullet graze my thigh. I yelled out in pain, from the bullet and from the person landing on top of me. They started pushing off of me and got up, taking cover behind an A/C unit. I looked their way, and saw it was Midnight. She saved my ass. _Goddammit._ I hate owing people. Knowing that someone held that kind of leverage over me, I hated it.

"Frost, put thermite on the jammer's power supply! We'll cover!" Sandman yelled as Grinch shot the last hostile in the face, sending him over the edge of the building.

"Clear!" Grinch announced

I limped forward up to the jammer, and placed the thermite against it, then taped it on, making sure it wasn't going to come loose.

"Thermite's in place! Clear the blast radius!" Truck called

I swear, the amount of obvious comments these guys make is ridiculous. It's like they have no filter to what they're saying. The first thought that pops into their head, they just say it. It was _seriously_ starting to piss me off. I limped away from the jammer, and detonated the thermite on Sandman's order.

"It's coming down." Truck said, which earned him a glare, even if he couldn't tell due to my goggles

"Adios." Grinch commented

Almost as soon as the jammer hit the ground, radio chatter was coming through my radio.

" _This is (...) We've got a man down! We've got a man-" his transmission was cut off by static overpowering his voice_

" _We hear you infantry, we hear you." Juliet 2-4 called out reassuringly_

" _If you don't mind us, help! We need help! Now!" the distressed soldier yelled out_

" _This is Juliet 2-4, requsting bombing run on TRP 4, 9, 1, 1."_

Everything up until this point was filled with static in the background. But then I got a welcome sound into my ear, a clear transmission. It had been way too silent throughout the entire mission without the transmissions being yelled across the airwaves.

" _Got you, affirmative. We've got you loud and clear._

"Roger, 0-1. All systems are operational. We're sending a Black Hawk to your location for exfil, ETA 3 minutes." Overlord informed us, and I'd never thought I'd be glad to hear his voice, because he's usually giving us bad news

"Roger, we're standing by." Sandman said, his right hand to the earpiece and his left, blocking out the other noise around the city

"Contact!" Grinch said as bullets started hitting the rooftop, originating from two buildings across the street

"ISR is back online. We are detecting multiple hostiles on the rooftops in your area. You now have OPCON of a fully armed Predator." Overlord said

"Frost, establish an uplink with the Predator and buy us some time!" Sandman yelled

I smiled to myself. I loved it when I got to take out my mini-laptop and take control of one of those. It was fun raining hell on the enemy for once. I was taking out hostiles on the buildings, which I recognized as the Trump Building or the Downtown by Phillipe Starck building. But I didn't care what building they were on, when that missile hit, I looked up and watched as they went flying off the building to the pavement below. I was getting a strange sense of satisfaction from watching them fall to their doom. It was kind of scary and kind of exhilarating. Even when I heard the sound of a Havoc approaching, I didn't falter, just continued to send a missile right into the tail. I put the laptop away and watched as the chopper went into a flat spin, crashing into the Stock Exchange on the lower level. They were going to have fun cleaning that up when this mess was over. Yet again, the entire city was going to need repairs. I sure as hell hadn't helped by shooting missiles into buildings and destroying national icons with downed birds. Speaking of birds, our Black Hawk flew by before circling back around, stopping by the edge of the building.

"Here's our exfil! Load up! Load up!" Sandman yelled, jumping into the chopper

I followed him, standing unsteadily on the edge of the building before jumping on. I heard the pilot talk over the radio to somebody before we continued.

"Confirmed, five eagles aboard, exfil complete." He said

"Hold on, we're going vertical!" Sandman called out as we started to gain altitude. Below on a rooftop, I could see some hostiles that I missed were shooting at us.

"Multiple contacts, lower rooftop. Frost, get on it!"

I hopped on the minigun before spraying the shit out of them. They never stood a chance.

"Metal 0-1, standby for new mission directive, over." Overlord said

"Roger, Overlord. Send it." Sandman said

"We have multiple Russian war ships near our ports. We sent the SEALs to assault the command vessel. Proceed to New York Harbor to assist."

"Copy your last."

Fun. Now we get to go get wet and attack the Russians in the water. When will this day end? Like I get that we need to get the job done, but it just seemed like this day wouldn't end.

"Metal 0-1, be advised. We're seeing multiple enemy rotor-wings in your airspace."

There's the bad news that I'm used to. This guy seemed like he had only moments once in a blue moon where he actually said something that held good news. The rest of the time, he was a major downer. But, just as he'd predicted, a Havoc appeared in front of me.

"Enemy bird, incoming!" Truck yelled

The missile warning alarm sounded throughout the bird as the Russian chopper sent out a missile. Thank god, it missed, and I fired at it. The bird flew away, with us on their tail.

"Stay on him! Stay on him!"

"What the hell do you think I'm doing, Truck?!" I yelled over the sound of the minigun and propellers.

We followed it through a couple of streets, but as it turned down one corner, another emerged and now we were on the defensive. It chased us around a couple of low level buildings and a construction site. I shot down one bird and it fell right on a row of porta-potties. The bird was engulfed in flames as the methane gasses ignited. I almost felt bad if anyone survived the initial crash. Almost. Another bird came at us, and I started shooting it, aiming for the cockpit.

"Frost, down that Russian bird!" Sandman yelled

I almost yelled at him too, but I refrained because he was my CO. I didn't care that Truck was our XO, but it was suicide to yell at Sandman when you were his subordinate. I hit the chopper's pilot, sending a spray of blood to splash in the cockpit. I watched him slump over the controls and send the Havoc into a building.

"Tally target! Right side, high!" The pilot called out

Sure enough, there was another one. I started shooting it, and soon enough it was down. It started to seem like this was just an endless cycle. Havoc appears, I shoot it, it goes down. Havoc appears, I shoot it, it goes down.

"Two more, two more! We're taking heavy fire!" Truck yelled urgently

I saw the other two Hinds that showed up and I shot at one.

"Taking evasive action." The pilot said

The chopper lurched to the left and the minigun's bullets flew off to the side. It was a little harder trying to shoot it down, but I got it done. The chopper flew down into the other one, taking care of that problem.

"Enemy bird is down!" Grinch called out "Good work!"

The pilot started flying around the construction site structure, with smoke everywhere from the downed Hinds. We stopped and hovered near the top.

"Keep scanning your sectors." Sandman said

"I think we lost 'em." Grinch said

Why'd you have to say that? That's the same as saying 'quiet' when you worked in emergency services. You just jinxed yourself into an endless night. Sure enough, another Hind came up from the other side of the building. How the hell had they been so quiet? I should've been able to hear them.

"Shit! Enemy Hind!" Midnight yelled

"Hold on! Banking left!" the pilot yelled

We started circling around the middle of the structure, hoping to prevent him from hitting us. I was shooting like crazy now, hoping to hit them through all of the support beams.

"He's behind the building! Behind the building!" Grinch yelled

It reminded me of kids playing hide and go seek. Grinch seemed to be that one kid that told the seeker where everybody was.

"Frost, can you get a bead on him? Fire!" Sandman yelled

This time, I couldn't hold back. "What the fuck do you think I'm doing?!" I yelled back

We continued to do our dance around the building before flying up, where I got a clear shot at them. I hit the rotors, causing it to start spinning. I watched as the tail went up and the pilot jerked the joystick our way. Shit. The Hind flew right at our chopper.

"Look out!" Midnight yelled

We started spinning, and I held onto the minigun for dear life the centrifugal force started pulling at my legs, and I started flying out the side of the chopper. I grabbed for the minigun's mount, but barely missed it. I honestly thought I was done right then and there. I was going to fly out the side of the chopper and I would die. Then, I was given a lifeline. That lifeline happened to by Midnight's hand grabbing my plate carrier and holding the minigun. I looked below as the Hind hit the building, causing an explosion. A barrel was sent upwards and clipped my left leg, making where the bullet hit hurt more.

"Shit! We're going down!" Truck yelled as we started losing altitude

"I've still got pressure in the pedals!" the pilot grunted "Come on, you son of a bitch!"

"Hold on!" Midnight yelled to me

The chopper continued to spin as Midnight helped me get back into the chopper. She moved towards the other side, dragging me upwards. I grabbed the minigun mount and pulled myself up. I held onto the minigun as the propellers started scraping at the side of a building. As we came up, the chopper balanced out.

"Torque feels okay! Tail rotor effective, hydraulics holding. Collective and pitch sat'. Fuel 70 percent." The pilot said

"Overlord, this is 0-1, we're en route to the harbor, over." Sandman said

"Roger, 0-1. The skies are clear. Good luck, out." Overlord said

We started flying away from the city towards the harbor. Our day was only half over. Time to bring the Russian command vessel to its knees.

 **QoC: Do you think that Midnight should be able to join Metal Team, or be transferred to a new unit?**


	14. Hunter Killer

**Tracking… Found**

 **SSgt. Jade "Midnight" Bancroft**

 **Delta Force**

 **New York City, New York**

 **A.N.: Hey guys, what's up? I have finished Hunter Killer, and with a bit of advice, I decided to keep Midnight on Metal. I hope you guys enjoy reading about Metal 0-5's adventures (and misadventures) with her new team. So, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **To BC2016, Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely take it and work on Midnight's character more.**

"Good work, Sandman. We've regained air dominance over Manhattan and pushed the front line back to the river." Overlord said

"What's our next target?" Sandman said

"The Russian command vessel is an Oscar-II submarine carrying enough cruise missiles to level the entire Eastern seaboard. We need to strike fast before they can launch a counter attack."

"Roger, what's the mission?"

"Infiltrate the vessel, take over the bridge, then turn their weapons against their own fleet. I need you to link up with the SEALs and get it done. Good luck."

I listened to the conversation between Sandman and Overlord. All I could think about was how I had nearly let Frost die. Yet again, he did save me. I guess I did owe him. I looked over at him. He was holding ono his left leg. It had taken a hit earlier, but I didn't know how bad.

"Kit up, boys." Sandman said, then looked at me "And girl."

I got confused. "I'm going with you?"

"You've been reassigned to Metal. Welcome to the team Metal 0-5."

"Where's our infil point?" Grinch asked

"Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel."

"I thought it collapsed." Truck commented

"It did."

Now I was really confused. If the tunnel was collapsed, then how were we going to be getting in? I wasn't going to question it. We landed near the entrance to the tunnel, where a group of soldiers were waiting with several packs and SDVs. Once we touched down, I hopped out of the chopper, right behind Frost. Even though his face was hidden, I could tell he was still shaken up about nearly falling to his death. I mean, who wouldn't? It wasn't every day that you had a near death experience. Not on that scale. I stood off to the side as Sandman talked to one of the soldiers before turning to us. He tossed a pack around to everyone, keeping one for himself. They all started undressing, and I started getting uncomfortable. Granted, they were guys and they did this all the time, I didn't. I just stood there while the others stripped down and started getting scuba gear on. As he was zipping up his wetsuit, Sandman noticed I was still hadn't changed.

"Midnight, what the hell are you doin'? Get dressed!" He said

I looked around for a place to change. I _really_ didn't want to strip down in front of them, I mean, I barely knew them. I really didn't feel comfortable getting changed right out in the open. Finally, I spotted a destroyed BTR. Probably not the best place to change, but probably the most private. I made my way over and started taking off my kit. It felt good to take the helmet off and let my hair out of its bun. It flowed around my shoulders as I stripped out of my kit and fatigues, before I put the wet suit on. Unfortunately, I had to put my hair back in a bun before I pulled the hood over my head. I reached back into the bag, strapping the holster to my thigh, then clipping the MP5 silenced w/ Red Dot onto my belt. I walked back to the others, who were setting their SDVs in the water. I ran over, as fast as I could with the rubber flippers on my feet. I put my SDV in the water, then pulled the scuba mask over my face, making sure it was airtight. We turned our SDVs on and they propelled us through the water. We started to make our way through the tunnel when we were met with a wall of rubble.

"This must've been where it collapsed." I said

"Yeah. I hope everyone got out in time." Frost said

I turned to him and saw his eyes for the first time. Blue. Like a _bright_ frosty blue. Maybe that was how he had gotten his callsign.

"How are we going to get around this?" Grinch asked

"Over there." Truck pointed towards an access grate

"Are we going to be able to fit in there?" I asked

"If we go one at a time and take it slow, then yeah." Sandman said

He used his SDV to bring him over to the grate. He let go of it, grabbing a tool off his belt. He put it up to the grate, then held down a button. A bright flame ignited on the end. It was a blow torch. He moved to each bar, melting it down until it came loose. Frost moved forward and yanked the piece out. Sandman went in the shaft first, Frost next, then me. Inside, it was _really_ dark. I wouldn't have been able to see if it weren't for the SDV's lights. We continued to move through the maintenance shaft until we came to another grate. Sandman started cutting through this one too. When he was almost done, he tried contacting the SEAL squad.

"SDV Team 4, this is Metal 0-1. Radio check in the blind, over."

"Roger, 0-1. We have you five-by-five. Phase line Echo secure. We have execute authority." The SEAL leader responded

"We're one minute out."

"Copy that."

"Just don't start the party without us." Grinch joked

"Almost through." Sandman said, cutting through the last bar with a loud bang

Just like with the last one, Frost came forward and pulled the grate out of its frame. Sandman got back on his SDV and went through the hole, with me close behind.

"Primary entry point is open. Stay tight, easy to get separated down here." Sandman said

We started to push forward, and I almost had to yank my mask off to vomit. Granted, that wouldn't have ended pretty because we're underwater, but I saw something that made me sick to my stomach. In the backseat of a car, was a baby. It didn't even look a year old. It looked so peaceful sitting in the water, but it broke my heart. My sadness quickly turned to anger. Those Russian bastards are gonna fuckin' pay. Grinch floated by and saw what I was looking at.

"Damn. Think anyone got out?" He wondered

"Nothing we can do for them now. Maintain 2,9,5 degrees. Three hundred meters to link up."

I was kind of angry that Sandman dismissed the fact that some people might've gotten out of the tunnel, but I understood why. He was right. Even if they had gotten out, we weren't going to be able to help them. We needed to focus on taking out the sub. I followed the others through the tunnel. I saw something floating, and didn't recognize what it was until it was closer. It was another body. It was bloated from being in the water for so long. It wasn't a pretty sight. I tried to ignore it as we came across the hole in the tunnel.

"Metal 0-1, got you on the tracker." The SEAL leader said

"Roger, approaching rendezvous." Sandman said

We went out through the hole and into the Hudson River. It was so murky, with garbage and debris from the tunnel everywhere. Is this what it was like all the time? Dear god.

"SEAL team should be up ahead." Sandman said

"I see them." Grinch said

How? I could barely see through the muck in the river. It was going to be hell trying to navigate through the water. We continued to move forward, and I eventually got eyes on a group of people wearing clothing identical to ours. The SEAL leader wasted no time in getting a move on.

"Sub's on the move. Intercept window's closing fast." He said

"Roger that. Lead the way." Sandman replied

Every word seemed like one person would say something then someone else would say something back, then nothing. Yet again, that was what it was like most of the time in the field. It was another minute before the SEAL leader piped up again.

"Watch your sonar. Russians are laying mines."

That just made me that much more nervous. On top of everything that we had to worry about, now mines had been thrown into the mix. What's next?

"Mine!" Frost said

I looked at the display on my SDV. Sure enough, a red light was blinking in an arch on the right side of the HUD. I steered left, and easily missed hitting the mine. I continued to steer through more mines with the others until we came to a clear patch.

"Power down, here we go." Sandman said

I did as he instructed, cutting power to the engines. We didn't want to be moving with that sub's sonar going off. Speak of the devil, it suddenly filled the booming silence of the water. The only thing was, it went from eerily silent to deafeningly loud. Not good on the ears. I winced a bit as I watched above me. The sub started flowing past, a red shape going across my SDV's radar. When it had passed, we powered up again.

"Okay, go! Get into position!" Sandman ordered

I watched Frost, Grinch, and the SEAL leader plant explosives on various parts of the ship. When done, they retreated to a safe distance before blowing the explosives. I watched as fireballs erupted under water, oxygen escaping through the new holes in the hull.

"Overlord, this is Metal 0-1. Sub is surfacing. Commencing assault." Sandman said

"Roger, 0-1. Continue to Primary Objective. We need control of the sub's missiles." Overlord responded

The sub surfaced, nearly crushing Frost. Damn thing was five fucking feet from killing him. Once the top of the sub was on the surface, we all moved forward, getting on top. I took off my diving mask and pulled out my MP5. I saw as a hatch in the roof started opening, smoke pouring out.

"Hatch opening! Contact coming out of the hatch!" Sandman yelled

Finally, we were finally out of the water and into battle. I saw three Russians scramble out of the hatch, but before they could shoot, I shot them all. Two fell on the hull while the third fell backwards, back into the sub. Sandman walked up to the hatch, pulling out a frag.

"Frag out!" He said, pulling the pin

He dropped it down the hatch. We waited for the explosion before proceeding with the mission.

"Clear, head down." Sandman ordered

"Deck secured. We'll hold topside." Truck said

I watched Frost and Sandman go in, sliding down a ladder. I looked back towards Grinch and Truck before following Frost and Sandman down the hatch. I hit the bottom, and I was in what appeared to be a boiler room. Several bodies were strewn all over the floor, shrapnel embedded in them.

"Alright, sweep and clear. All unknowns are hostile. Frost, Midnight, rendezvous downstairs. Sandman opened up a door, leading towards the barracks. Several Russians were inside, but we killed them easily. They weren't used to this kind of fighting. It caught them off guard and it got them killed. I followed Frost's lead over to a set of stairs, where at the bottom, Sandman was already going to work on a Russian. He punched him in the face, knocking him down. He finished the bastard off with a kick to the face. His head went into a doorway, and I swore I heard his skull crack.

"Stairs clear. Take left." Sandman said

We continued through the sub, moving through flooded hallways. We shot down several Russians, armed or unarmed. We didn't want to take the chance. We started moving up another staircase when an alarm sounded.

"They're going to scuttle the sub! We gotta move, now! Frost, take point!" Sandman yelled

We approached a doorway, through which were catwalks surrounding the cruise missiles we were here for. If we could just get to the bridge, they might actually be of some use to us. Frost went in first, shooting down all the hostiles in our path. I was right behind him, shooting the assholes ahead of us. Soon enough, this room was clear, but there was still another room of missiles between us and the bridge. I went in first this time, killing every living thing that wasn't in a wetsuit.

"We have to get to the bridge!" Sandman yelled

Why don't you just tell them the entire point of our mission, why don't you? Damn, Sandman. Are you trying to make it harder on us? Now they're going to try and barricade us from the bridge with themselves. Sure enough they did. While it was a valiant effort, it was a futile one. They were killed easily, allowing me and Frost to go up a staircase, leading right to the bridge. There was a large steel door between us and them though, but I knew that wasn't going to be a problem. Frost had the breaching charge.

"Hold position at the door!" Sandman yelled, making his way over to us "Okay! Frost, put a kicker charge on the door!"

Frost did as he said, placing the explosive on the door. This wasn't your average breaching charge. It gave a little more kick of power, hence the name. It was C4 placed on top of a breaching charge, and had two det. bars attached, just to make sure nobody accidentally blew themselves up with it. Sandman put the det. bars on the door and we all stood back. When the door blew, it went flying back. Frost went in the room first, shooting at Russians over by a ladder. It appeared to lead to the outside. If there was a hatch on the other side of the sub, why hadn't we used that instead? I was ripped from my thoughts when Frost yelled in pain. There was a Russian tackling him, while sticking a knife in his side. I shot the Russian in the head, and knelt down by Frost. The knife didn't look like it was too deep. It was just a flesh wound. He would be alright. I pulled the knife out and helped him to his feet. He clutched his side as blood started to come out. I walked into the room, surveying the damage. A couple Russian officers lay dead over by the ladder, but one unfortunate bastard was underneath the door. He hadn't even known what hit him.

"Alright, I got the launch keys. Overlord, this is Metal 0-1. I send checkpoint Neptune, over. "

I looked over at Sandman, who was standing up, after what I guessed was searching through the commander's pockets. He walked over to a row of monitors and keyboards full of buttons as his conversation with Overlord continued.

"Roger, 0-1, copy Neptune." Overlord replied

"I have the missile key and I'm accessing the launch codes now."

"Grid coordinates follow: Tango Whiske 8."

"Coordinates confirmed! Firing on Russian fleet in 30 seconds! Midnight, get on the console!"

I walked over to the other side of the computer bank and looked over at him. He tossed me one of the launch keys, which I caught with one hand. I inserted it into a key slot and waited for Sandman's go. We had to turn the keys simultaneously or else we wouldn't be able to fire the missiles.

"Three, two, one, turn!" He said

On that last word, I twisted the key, and a cover flipped up. Inside was a small button. I found it funny how such a small button was about to be the reasons dozens of missiles were about to be launched, extinguishing hundreds of lives and dozens of ships. Regardless, I pushed it and started leaving with Sandman.

"Overlord, missiles armed and launching!" Sandman yelled as he climbed the ladder to escape

"Roger. SEAL team in position for exfil."

I looked back over to Frost, who had taken the hood off of his face. His face was a little paler than usual, and the cut in his side was still bleeding. It might've gone a little deeper than I had originally thought.

"You need help?" I asked

He shook his head no, and continued to move towards the ladder, climbing up. His face scrunched up in agony as he was stretching the wound, pulling his arms over his head. When I got to the top, he was on his knees, holding his side. His face was dripping with sweat by now. I reached down, pulling him up. I hauled him over to the side of the sub, where two Zodiacs were waiting. Sandman in one, and Grinch and Truck in the other. Together, we slid down the side of the sub and landed in the boat.

"Grinch, Truck, let's roll!" Sandman yelled to the other two

"Amen to that!" Grinch yelled back

They pinned the throttle, and took off. I did the same, staying at least twenty meters behind them. I continued to follow them through the wreckage of the ships all around us. Two missiles were coming in on both sides of us, aiming for the battleships there.

"Missiles coming in!" Truck yelled back

"Just keep going!" Sandman yelled

Ahead of us was a sunken carrier, its flight deck half in the water, the tail sticking in the air. We were going by it when a Russian PT boat came in, washing us up onto the deck.

"Look out!" Frost yelled weakly

"Shoot the mines!" Sandman yelled

I whipped out my sidearm and shot the mines in the back of the boat until they exploded. It didn't take many bullets, and the PT boat sank into the harbor behind us. Now back on the water, we approached a broken and burning pier. I steered us through the wreckage, right down an aisle of support beams. At the end was a collapsed slab of concrete, which I used to slide up on and get back in the harbor. I heard the heavy beating of helicopter rotors, and looked up. Above me were two CH-47 Chinooks coming in for a landing.

"There's our bird!" Sandman said

I pinned the throttle as they came in and landed on the water. One was in front of us and the other in front of Truck and Grinch.

"There she is! Go! Go!"

"Metal 0-1, we are feet wet." The crew chief said

I almost felt bad for the guy. He had to be up at high altitudes, his feet freezing for the rest of the day. Yet again, we were about to experience that all over our bodies in a minute. Without slowing down, I steered the Zodiac right into the chopper, hopping out to the front, helping the crew chief pull it in.

"Overlord, mission complete. All Eagles accounted for." Sandman reported

"Roger, Metal 0-1, missile strikes confirmed on multiple Russian hard targets in your AO. All primary threats neutralized. Good work, team, that's one for the books." Overlord said

He actually complemented us. Since when the hell did that happen? Usually only when something bad was about to happen. I didn't like it when things were about to get bad. That usually meant that people close to me were going to get hurt. Like today. I had barely had any time to grieve the loss of my entire team. They were all gone. Dead. But I was part of Metal now, and I was determined to do my part and prove I belonged here.

 **QoC: If you were to pair Midnight with anybody on Metal, who would it be?**

Sandman: Easy day, Overlord. Sandman out


	15. The Day After

**A.N.: Hey guys, what's up? So because of the fact that there's two months between Persona Non Grata and Turbulence, there's about to be quite a few chapters where not much action is going on. I thought I'd start off with our newest edition, Delta. So, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **SSgt. Jade "Midnight" Bancroft**

 **Delta**

 **Bennett Field, New York**

We had just landed at Bennett Field after taking down the Russians. For the first time in days, there was actually quiet throughout the city. Well, as much quiet as you can get when you've got a camp full of soldiers running around. I hobbled off the Chinook. The pain in my leg was starting to return now that my adrenaline wasn't pumping anymore. It hurt so bad, I had to lean on Frost. I felt bad, because he was injured too. That knife wound didn't look deep, but it did look like it hurt like hell. His arm wrapped around my back, and mine across his shoulders, we walked over to the infirmary. Or, at least, the tent that served as the infirmary. When we walked inside, there were soldiers wounded everywhere. The medics were working fiercely to save the soldiers' lives. It was a losing battle. Some of the soldiers were already dead, unmoved because there were other soldiers who needed attention. It was sad. These men didn't deserve to be left like that. I looked at Frost, and saw he was already looking at me. Not sure if I should be scared he's staring at me, or worried there's something on my face.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"No reason." He said

I just scowled up at him as we waited for _anywhere_ to open up. By now, the medics were treating people on the ground. How was there _nowhere_ else they could be treated? But finally, one of the medics saw us.

"What's wrong with you?" He said, hands on his hips

"GSW to my leg and stab wound to his abdomen." I said

"Get over here."

We hobbled over to him and after half an hour of excruciating pain, I was able to leave. I waited outside for Frost. Another five minutes and he joined me. Together, we walked back to the others, who were sitting inside a tent. I looked around, seeing gear all over beds, soldiers sitting on the free spots. If you listened carefully, you would be able to hear "Sweet Home Alabama" in the background. I spotted Grinch, Truck, and Sandman over at the other end of the tent. We walked over, taking our kit off. I put mine on an open cot and sat down. It felt good to finally rest, to finally not worry if your next thoughts or words will be your last.

"There you two are." Sandman said "About time you showed up."

"Well it does take a bit to get a bullet out of your leg then clean and disinfect it. I mean, I went into the Hudson with an open wound. I'll be lucky if I don't have an extra limb tomorrow." I said

Grinch laughed and Truck flashed a smile. "She just might be able to give Grinch a run for his money. She's got some sass." Sandman said

"Nah, you all know nobody tops me." Grinch said

I didn't say anything, but it felt kind of weird to be sitting with them and talking to them, hell, being teammates with them, and not knowing their names. I guess Sandman had similar thoughts.

"Alright, cut the chatter. I think it's time for proper introductions." He said "Name's Jake Brooks."

"James Hudson." Grinch said

"Augustus Bowman." Truck said **(See what I did there?)**

"Derek Westbrook." Frost said

I don't know why, but I loved the fact that I now knew his name. Sure, it was nice to know all their names, but I especially loved hearing his. I must've zoned out because it took Grinch waving his hand in my face to get my attention.

"Helloooo? Midnight? You in there?"

"Midnight's not here right now, may I take a message?" I said sarcastically

"Yep, Grinch's rep is in trouble." Truck said

"Shut up. So, what's your name?"

"Jade Bancroft."

"Bancroft." I heard Derek mutter

I didn't say anything, but I had the feeling he was thinking the same thing I did when I heard his name. We started talking about random things, just trying to take our minds off of what was going on around us. Right now, Grinch was trying to get us interested in a game of Truth or Dare.

"Alright, Jade, what's your favorite band?"

"Really? Out of everything you could ask, my favorite band is the question you ask?"

"Hey, a person's favorite band says a lot about them."

"Fine, but I don't really have one. There's just too many to choose from."

"Then pick some of your favorites."

"Ummm…" I had to think for a moment "My Chemical Romance, The Script, Green Day, Blink 182, Three Day's Grace, there's a lot of them."

"Looks like you and Frost are going to get along just fine in that department." Truck said

I looked over at Derek and he just shrugged. "What? I can't like their music?" He said

I didn't say anything, and Grinch proceeded to ask everybody questions. It was getting kind of late and I was wiped. I got up and stretched, but I must've did something because then, pain flared in my leg. That hurt like a bitch. I let out a small yelp of pain, and everybody looked at me.

"What was that?" Grinch said mockingly

"That, I believe, was called a yelp. People tend to do that when they're in pain, didn't you know?"

I saw Derek smiling in the corner of my eye and my heart fluttered. He looked so damn sexy with that grin. I told everyone goodnight and moved my gear off of the cot. I laid down and started to drift off into sleep.

 **Frost's POV**

After Jade went to bed, we all started to go to bed. First, Jake dropped, then Gus, then me. I was just too damn tired, and that was something that never happened. I usually never slept, just because nightmares haunted me. Tonight was no different. Except tonight, Liam was in them. I watched him driving the Humvee, talking with Sandman.

" _So how are we going to get there? I mean, I know we're in a Humvee, but how are we going to get to the roof? There's gotta be an entire army of Ruskies sitting between us and there."_

" _We'll get there, don't worry. It'd just help if Frost would wake up back there. It'd be a lot easier to shoot the Russians if he weren't sleeping." Jake said_

" _Yeah, well, you know when that bastard can sleep, he sleeps. I don't know why he doesn't just do it at night. I mean why not then when everybody else is sleeping?_ "

" _I don't know. He just doesn't."_

 _I looked out the windshield and saw the Russian aiming the RPG. I tried yelling out to them as loud as I could. I couldn't, my voice wouldn't work. I had to watch, helpless as the trigger was pulled, sending the grenade right into Liam. If only I was awake, he would still be alive. He was dead, and because I was asleep, I couldn't warn him of the threat._

I woke with a start, someone's hand on my shoulder. "Frost. Frost!" they whispered

My eyes started to adjust to the darkness. Everybody else was asleep, the tent covered in darkness. Son of a bitch. I hated the dark. I looked around to where I heard the voice coming from, and I could vaguely make out the shape of a person huddled next to my bed.

"You okay?" she asked

She. It was Jade. "Yeah, why?" I asked her

"You were thrashing around and talking in your sleep. You want to talk about it?"

I didn't know if I wanted to or not. I didn't usually talk about my problems with anyone else. Part of the reason my callsign is Frost. My eyes didn't help the matter. But regardless, I never, and I mean _never_ told anybody about my problems. It just hurt too much to talk about them. But for some reason, I felt like I could open up to Jade without it hurting so goddamn much.

"It was about Liam." I finally said

"Liam?"

"He was the last Metal 0-5. He was killed just minutes before I saved you."

"Oh." She said quietly "How'd he die?"

"RPG."

"I'm sorry."

I looked up at her, even if I couldn't see her. The only thing I could see where her amber eyes. I could tell she was sincere in her condolences, not just saying it for the need to say something.

"Thanks." I said

After that, she just stood up, put her hand on my shoulder, then walked away. I didn't want her to go, but I couldn't just keep her here against her will. This was going to be a very interesting experience having her on the team.

 **QoC: Should (yet another) OC be added to pair up with Yuri or no?**


	16. Attraction

**A.N.: Hey, what's up guys? Sorry I haven't updated as frequently as I normally do. I've been trying to decide whether or not to add another OC to TF141, and I decided I shouldn't. I think four OCs on one team is enough. And so please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson**

 **Task Force 141 Disavowed**

 **Airspace over Romania**

I woke up feeling nothing. I didn't feel my arms, my legs, nothing. I started to get scared, mainly because I wasn't anywhere I knew. I looked around and saw the team sitting around, sleeping, talking quietly, or pretending to sleep. I moved my head, but it was hard. Why was it so hard to move my head? Maybe if I could just talk, they'd know I'm awake. I tried it, but my voice was too weak for even me to hear it. I moved my arm, but it didn't appear that anybody had seen what I did. Dammit. But I must've gotten the attention of Liz because she was at my side instantly.

"Roach? Roach, are you awake?"

"Yeah." I said quietly. If she wasn't so close, she wouldn't have heard me

"We're on our way to Slovakia. Nikolai's got a safehouse there."

Why wouldn't we just go back to base? Why'd we have to go to Africa to one of Nikolai's safehouses? I didn't get it. Then, everything came back in a painful flood. Makarov's safehouse, getting hit by a mortar, Shepard shooting me and Ghost, then lighting us on fire. After that, I blacked out. I couldn't remember anything. That bastard was going to pay. There was no way he was going to get away with this.

"Where's Ghost?" I asked

"He's over there. He's fine. His injuries weren't as bad as yours. We're all here, Gary. 'Tavish, Price, and Nikolai are flying ahead of us, leading the way."

"Why aren't they here?"

"After we saved you and Ghost, we went to India. Makarov found us. We had to fight our way out, and we couldn't meet Price. We got in a chopper and followed Nikolai out of there."

I didn't say anything, but just laid back and closed my eyes. Why had this happened? What could Shepard possibly have gained from betraying us? Absolutely nothing. There was no reason behind it.

"Just rest for now, Roach."

I nodded my head and drifted off to sleep.

 **Jester's POV, 3 hours later**

I looked down at Ava, who was using my shoulder as a pillow. I didn't mind. She looked so peaceful when she slept, like Shepard hadn't betrayed us, that Makarov wasn't out for our blood. It was a nice change for once. Nice to not have to look in her eyes and see fear.

"ETA one minute." The pilot said

I frowned. I guess I had to interrupt her sleep. I shook her shoulder and mumbled something unintelligible. I shook it again, and this time her eyes opened.

"Where are we?" She asked

"Slovakia. We're arriving at the safe house."

"Really? We're there already?"

"Yeah. So let's go sleepyhead."

Once the chopper landed, we started walking off, Ghost and I carrying Roach. I couldn't tell if the guy was in any pain. He didn't show it, but he had a gunshot to the gut and burns all over his body. Yet again, they were third-degree, and from what I knew, those destroyed the nerve endings. That meant you couldn't feel a thing. I couldn't help but feel bad. The guy had been shot _and_ set on fire. I mean, I'd been shot too, but my vest caught that. I hadn't gotten anything but a nice big bruise and a cracked rib. Shaking those thoughts from my head, I helped Ghost bring Roach upstairs and put him in bed. The place was pretty big. A nice run-down mansion that served its purpose for us. My attention was brought back to Roach when Ghost started talking

"Get some rest, Roach. We're going after Makarov as soon as we can." Ghost said

"What about Shepard?" He asked

"He's dead, mate. Price and MacTavish got him."

"That's good."

Roach closed his eyes, and we walked out of the room. I went downstairs where I saw everyone else, plus one extra guy. He was kinda tall, I'd say about five foot eight. He had buzzed brown hair and blue eyes, and there were tattoos all over his arms and hands. I could tell this guy was Russian, just because of the tattoos. They were the same kind of ones on that trooper in Arcadia. Still couldn't figure out where he was from. Just knew that he was Russian. I remembered what I said to Foley. _"Sarge, check out these tats. Not your average trooper, Hooah?"_ I was about to turn and mention this to him, when I remembered he was dead. Him and Ramirez died in the boneyard. Goddamn that hurt. To forget that one of your closest friends were dead, start to talk to them, then have reality slap you across the face as hard as possible. Then grab your heart and rip it right out of your chest, leaving you to live on. I barely even heard Price as he started to talk.

"Alright everyone, Makarov's still out there and we need to find him. We're staying here until we can find out where he is. Here's the gameplan, a group will go into town tomorrow and get supplies. Nikolai's got a contact that's going to help us out with that. After that, we're going to be searching for every sign of Makarov that you can find. Let's get this done people, this war shouldn't go on longer than it needs to."

As everyone started to disperse, Price started to walk over to me and Ghost. "You two, I need you to help set up a map of every person we know Makarov is and was connected to. We need to know who to keep tabs on. That's your first priority tomorrow."

We nodded and I walked off to find Ava. I needed to talk to someone and I knew she was the only one that would understand. I found her in the kitchen with that new guy. Still didn't know how I felt about that guy. She turned her head towards me when I walked in.

"Hey, Scott, have you met Yuri yet?"

"No, I haven't." I said

Yuri stood up and walked over to me, holding out his hand. I took his hand, shaking it. I guess if Price trusted him, I could. For now.

"Nice to meet you, Yuri."

"To you as well." He said in a heavy Russian accent

He sat back down and I looked back towards Ava. "Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?"

"Sure." She said, getting up

She walked out of the room and I walked after her. She went upstairs and into an empty bedroom. "What's up?"

I sat down on the bed sitting in the corner. "You miss Sarge and Ramirez?"

She sat down next to me, a sad look in her eyes. "Yeah. All the time."

"I just can't believe their gone."

"You know what I miss about Foley the most? Him ordering Ramirez to do everything."

"Yeah. I bet if he told Ramirez to take down a chopper with his bare hands, the kid would find a way and do it." I said, smirking

"Hell, he'd probably go after a Juggernaut with nothing but a knife if he was told to."

I laughed and I looked at her, finding her eyes already trained on me. Without even thinking, I leaned in and kissed her. I could tell that she was surprised and I pulled back. What the hell was I thinking? There was no way she felt like that towards me. I looked away from her.

"I'm sorry." I said

She just put her hand on my cheek and pulled my head towards her. She leaned in and kissed me again. I leaned in and kissed her back. After a minute, we pulled apart for air. I just stared into her beautiful caramel colored eyes and she stared into my blue ones.

"It's about damn time you made a move." She said

"Oh, so you've been waiting for me?"

"You've been the only one I've been waiting for." 

I kissed her again and suffice to say, my night was _very_ eventful.


	17. Benevolence

Chapter 17

 **Tracking… Found**

 **SSgt. Jade "Midnight" Bancroft**

 **Delta Force**

 **Bennet Field, New York**

 **A.N: Hey guys, what's up? First off, I want to apologize for not posting as often as I normally do, my internet has been having problems and I haven't been able to upload. Second off, I apologize that this chapter is a bit shorter than I normally have, but it was just a filler, not really important to the plot too much. So, please R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

I awoke the next morning with a sharp pain in my leg. I should've figured that it would hurt for a while. I mean, a hot piece of lead that was buried in your leg tends to bring pain with it. I looked around for a clock. I found one sitting by Frost's now empty bunk. It was 9:00. This was late for me getting up. Hell, this is late for anybody to be getting up. Especially with this war on our home turf, nobody slept much more than five hours. The only thing keeping them from falling asleep on the battlefield is the rush of adrenaline. If it weren't for that, I guarantee that most of our soldiers would be snoring while being shot at. But whatever. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tried standing. Didn't work too well. I looked for something to help me up, and I found nothing. I guess the wall would have to do. I leaned up against it, trying to keep the weight off my bad leg. Once I was up, I did a hobble-hop type movement out of the tent. I needed to get over to the med tent and get some crutches. I was not going to walk around like this for a few weeks. I started to move over there, and I was surprised by the lack of soldiers I saw. This area was empty. Where was everybody? All coherent thoughts fled my brain when I made the mistake of putting too much weight on my injured leg. I started to stumble, and fell right into a soldier coming around the corner of a tent. We both fell to the ground and I found myself staring into a familiar pair of pale blue eyes.

"Fancy seeing you here." I said

Frost just rolled his eyes and looked back at me. "You make a habit of stumbling upon me? Or is that just coincidence?"

"Oh, no. I go out of my way to find the best possible way to annoy you, Frosty."

"Frosty?"

I just chuckled and started to get up. Kinda hard when you can't put weight on an entire leg and there's no solid walls to help you get vertical. Sucks. I'm surprised Frost didn't cry out in pain when I fell on him because of the gash in his side. That should've pulled a couple stitches. I started to up, using Frost's shoulder as support. That was, until he decided he was going to get up too, and I fell sideways. I swung my arms out, trying to prevent my body getting too damaged, but before my flesh touched the gravel, I felt a pair of calloused hands grab me. For the second time today, I was staring into those beautiful blue eyes. He was looking down at me and I up at him. I would be lying if I said I wasn't tempted to kiss him. What can I say? Frost had that kind of charm over me. He made it so that I wanted to be around him, hear every word that he said, laugh at the same things he did. I just wanted to be with him. I didn't know why. I couldn't explain it even if I tried. It was impossible. Sometimes the heart tells you to do things, and your brain has no choice but to listen. Hey, I wasn't complaining. I loved looking into his eyes. I just wondered if he felt the same way as did.

 **Frost's POV**

God, her eyes were beautiful. She was beautiful as a whole, but I especially loved her eyes. They were the perfect blend between brown and yellow; a beautiful amber color. They accented her golden-brown hair magnificently. God, she was beautiful. I've only known her for a day and I'm already falling for her. I just wished there was a soft pillow of acceptance at the bottom rather than the hard concrete of rejection. I didn't feel like finding out anytime soon. I was going to take this slow unless she made the first move. I wasn't about to finish this before it even began.

"You just going to stare at me all day, or are you going to lift me up?" She asked

 _Stupid. Why are you so goddamn stupid?_ I pulled her up so we were both standing up straight. It was hard to not just lean down and kiss her. But no. I couldn't do that. Not now. I don't know if ever. All I could do right now was wait and see if she would ever want me in that way. Right now, I don't even know if she wants me even as a friend. I think she mainly just puts up with me because we're in the same squad and I'm someone to talk to. I really would hate that to be the truth. Ah, to hell with that for now. I don't need to be getting depressed in the middle of a war.

"So where were you heading?" I asked

"Med Tent. Need a pair of crutches."

"Need any help with getting there?"

"Sure."

She put her right arm around my shoulders and I put my left arm around her waist. Together, we walked across the FOB **(Forward Operating Base)** and right into the tent to the on station medic. He gave Jade a pair of crutches without asking. I guess he didn't have to when he saw me practically dragging her across the base. That was pretty obvious.

"Thanks for your help." Jade said

"No problem. Anything for a teammate in need."

 _Teammate in need?! What the fuck is wrong with you Westbrook?! It's like you've never talked to a woman in your life! C'mon man! You're better than that!_ I wouldn't stop kicking myself in the face for that for a long time. I swear, I lose all swagger and comfortableness I hold when I start talking to her. It's like the nerd trying to ask the head cheerleader to go to the prom with him. Unfortunately, as cliché as it sounds, I know that from experience. What was really the surprise to me was that she had actually said yes to me. But that's in the past. I need to focus on the present. I looked at Jade and she just waved her hand to me and started walking with her new crutches towards wherever her destination originally was. I didn't want her to go, but I didn't want to sound like the over-bearing teammate who's always around and eventually hated. But that's just me. I bet a bunch of other guys would already be trying to find seventy different ways to get with her. But I'm not an asshole like those types of guys. I know when to wait, when to watch, and when to act. Okay, I'm sorry. That sounded _way_ less creepy in my mind than it actually did. But wait, these thoughts are in my head. Now I'm just over-thinking things. But either way, I know that I shouldn't be following her around everywhere she goes. Just to keep my distance and act when given the perfect opportunity. How'd you think I got that cheerleader to go to prom with me?

"Yo, Westbrook! Get your gear! We're finally going home!" I heard Grinch yell behind me

I turned around and found the rest of the team walking towards the tent we'd been sleeping in. I was relieved that I'd get to go home to Bragg. As much as I complained that it was always too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. But home was always home. Fort Bragg's been mine for almost five years now. It's the only real home I've ever really known. Not wanting to waste a second, I ran after them and started to gather my gear. I already was already wearing my Multicam and carrying my sidearm, I just needed to get my equipment. I didn't travel with much. Didn't really need to. Not in this line of work. I walked inside the tent, grabbed my stuff and followed Sandman to the chopper. It was going to be a long ride to the base, but at least we didn't have to worry about being shot down. Russians were disengaging and leaving the Eastern Coast. They should've known that was going to be a losing fight.

"What're you guys going to do when we get back?" Grinch said, taking the seat next to me

I immediately knew that one. "I'm taking a long, hot shower. It's been too long since I've had one of those."

"I think I'll take one too." I Jade said

I saw a look pass over Grinch's face for a second, but only for a second. I knew what his sick mind was thinking, but I wasn't going to say anything about it. He always has been like that. Probably always will be. Ignoring everybody else, I took out my iPod and put my earbuds in. I needed to listen to some music. I looked through my playlist and found the song I had been wanting to listen to for a while. I savored the sound of the music flooding my ears.

 _Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality._

Bohemian Rhapsody was probably my favorite song. It was hard to tell, but I think that it's my favorite. I don't know what it was about the song that made me love it so much. For some reason I felt like this song was the best out there. Other people might disagree, but they can think what they want to think. They're entitled to their opinion. I'm just going to keep thinking that mine is better. That's just the way I am. With that being said, I fell asleep listening to Freddie Mercury singing from the perspective of a young boy running from home after killing a man. Not sure if Mercury wrote that just for the song, or if he intended for there to be a deeper meaning behind it. Eh, I'm too tired to think about that for now.


	18. Cultivation

**Tracking… Found**

 **Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook**

 **Delta Force**

 **Fort Bragg**

 **A.N.: Hey guys, what's up? This chapter takes place at Fort Bragg, but the base in this chapter will not be like it's real world counterpart. I got kinda lazy and rather than look up how Fort Bragg was actually run, I just made it like the 141 base. So, please, R+R, review, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

I woke up to the sound of "Seven Years" in my ears. Heh heh. Years, ears, I rhymed. I looked around and saw that everyone was starting to get off the chopper. I guess the jolt of us hitting the ground was what woke me up. I grabbed my bag and got off with the others. My first stop was my room in the barracks. I had the room to myself because Grinch and Truck roomed together and Sandman had his own room. I walked to my room, unlocked the door, then took a shower. I got out and found a note on the kitchen table.

 _Frost,_

 _Midnight's bunking with you once she's done with the tour of the place. I hope you don't mind._

 _From, Sandman_

I smiled. I couldn't wait for her to move in. To say that I was crushing on her was a MAJOR understatement. I have never met a woman so beautiful as she was. And one who was so perfect. She reminded me a lot of my little sister, Alana. She was such a tomboy. Never afraid to get her hands dirty, never one to back down from a challenge. That's when it started to hurt thinking about her. I hadn't seen her since I was sixteen. Not alive, at least. My entire family had been killed on the same night, and I had just barely evaded joining them. Next thing I knew, I was inside my family's house, being awoken by Alana.

 _I had been woken when I heard her scream of terror. I knew something was wrong from the moment I heard her. Then, before I knew what was happening, I was being dragged out of bed and downstairs to the basement. My parents and sister were already down there. Mom and dad were unconscious, tied to chairs, and Alana was being bound to another. I struggled to get out of the guy's grip, but I received a punch to the face instead. I went out, but woke up again with one of the guy's faces in mine._

" _Wakey, wakey." He said "C'mon kid, wake up. You're not gonna want to miss this."_

 _I lifted my head to see my Dad being beaten with something. Was that one of the wrenches from the toolbox? Oh god. His face was bloody, bruised, and it didn't look good for him._

" _Hey, enough. The other kid's awake. Let's get this over with."_

" _Alright."_

 _I heard the wrench hit the concrete floor with a loud CLANG. My vision was blurry, but I could still tell what they were doing to my Dad. The guy who woke me up took out a knife and stabbed my Dad in the chest, right through to the heart. Then, he just started stabbing, continuously inserting the steel blade into my father's flesh. Mom was still out of it, but Alana and I were screaming at the bastard to stop. He didn't. Long after the life left my father's eyes, the bastard raised the knife to my Dad's throat and cut it. Then came my Mom. They killed her quickly. A simple cut to her throat and she was dead in minutes. But Alana was the worst part. They… they did things to her that I didn't want to talk about. When they were done, she got the same treatment as Mom, a cut to the throat. Then, they moved on to me. I was already dead inside. They had killed my entire family in front of me; I was prepared to join them. The guy who woke me up hours earlier pulled out a gun, a G19. Without waiting, he put three bullets in my chest. The last thought that I had before passing out was that I was going to be with my family forever. I woke up in the hospital a week later. The bastards got away before the police showed up. I guess that some neighbors complained about screaming and the cops showed up an hour later, finding my family dead and me barely hanging on. After that, I was the one in a prison my mind had trapped me in. For months, I just shut down, thinking about nothing but that night. The night that my family died and I was left with nothing. Then, I finally heard something that woke me up. They found them. They had just gotten done killing another family, but were caught when they were trying to leave and a neighbor saw them. They didn't make it half a mile before the cops caught them._

I was happy that they had been caught, but I felt bad for the family that had died in the process. Another family had been destroyed thanks to those monsters. I hadn't realized what kind of evil was in this world until that night. I had no idea that other humans could be so destructive. I had always believed that other people would never be able to do that to another, that there was no way that something would be so fucked up to destroy another person's life just because they wanted to. But then there had been people in my life to make me realize that there was somebody who cared, somebody who was nice enough to not treat you like the damaged thing you were and more like any other person. Those people were the ones I trusted with my life every time we're on the battlefield. My squad were the first people to show me any kind of compassion and they helped me become a better person. Before them, I had been just another guy with some serious PTSD and suicidal thoughts. They helped me realize that I should want to live, not kill myself. My family may be dead, but they would want me to live, not kill myself. I learned to love life and I started taking better care of myself, and I became part of a family again. It was nice knowing that there were people who still cared.

I walked over to my bed and grabbed my journal. There was so much that I had to write about. I hadn't picked this thing up since before D.C. Then again, I hadn't been back here since before then. Before I even picked up the pen, Jade came in the door and dropped her bag on her bed.

"Hey." She said

"Hey."

"What ya doin'?"

"Writing. Finished with the tour?"

"Yeah. Kinda boring. At least this place doesn't seem like it's completely boring. There's the rec room, gym, and obstacle course, so at least I'll have something to do in case I get bored."

"One of the top things you do when you're bored is go run an obstacle course?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Nothing." I said, shaking my head

This woman was definitely not like other girls. And I liked that. People who were too normal, did everything everybody else does, seem unnatural to me. The fact that they aren't their own person, and that they need to do everything like everybody else just to be seen is just not normal. I'd prefer someone to act like their own person rather than be part of another trend.

"Yeah, so?"

"Nothing."

"Well, I'm going to go to the mess hall, want to join me?"

"Sure."

Together we walked down there and got our food. We spent the rest of the day talking about what we did or didn't like, what our hobbies were, that type of stuff. I learned a lot about her today and I was eager to learn more. I was obsessed with this girl and I didn't know why. I was attracted to her and I was powerless to stop it. She was like a magnet and I was just another piece of metal pulled towards it. For the next few days, we spent the day with each other and learned more about each other. She became my best friend and I became hers. It felt like those were the best days since I was sixteen.


	19. Authors Note

Hey guys, what's up? I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in a while, but the charger on my laptop broke, so I haven't been able to update, and for that I'm sorry. I'm posing this from my phone right now, but I wanted to let you all know that I won't be posting any new updates for a while. Again, I'm sorry. So, until next time, OPKILLERFROST out.


	20. Back on the Grid Goalpost

**Hey guys, what's up? I am so sorry I haven't posted in such a long time, but I've only just now gotten hold of a computer. I won't be posting as often because the computer is a friend's, but I will still be posting. Also, if I make any kind of plot error, like mixing up relationships, please just let me know because I don't have any of the documents I used to keep track of that stuff. So please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Scott "Jester" Dunn**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Unknown Location**

"Jester! Boxer! Wake the fuck up!" Ghost yelled through the door

Shit. How late in the day was it? Last night was, I don't even remember. Last night was one of the rare times we were allowed to consume alcohol, so I got as drunk as I could. I don't remember anything past the point where Ghost was putting a roach on Gary. That, I don't remember. I reluctantly opened my eyes and was instantly blinded by the open blinds. I closed them then turned towards the other side of the bed, where I found Ava. I instantly smiled when I saw her laying there, asleep and peaceful. It was going to suck when I woke her up and she would get all grumpy. I reached over and shook her shoulder until her eyes opened up.

"Hey." She mumbled into the pillow

"Hey." I smiled at her "We should probably get up. Ghost came over yelling at us to get out of bed."

"Yeah. Probably. But I don't want to go. My head hurts and everything is really bright."

"I know, but if Ghost is telling us to get up, we need to get up."

"Ugh. Fine."

We both got up and started to get dressed. Nice part about not officially being in the military anymore, you don't have to dress in fatigues anymore. I pulled out a long sleeved t-shirt and cargo pants. I tossed on my boots and walked downstairs with Ava, who was wearing the same thing as me, except her shirt was short sleeved. We went downstairs and found everyone gathered around a TV. I was not expecting the headline I saw on the screen.

'RUSSIAN PRESIDENT MISSING; Disappeared only hours ago… U.S. Government are in talks. Evidence points to extremist groups.'

"The Russian President never arrived in Hamburg for the peace summit. With his whereabouts currently unknown, no one is certain what this means for the peace treaty…" the news reporter said

"Looks like Makarov just played his next hand." Soap said

"If he puts himself back on the grid, he wants it to be known." Price said, putting up more notes on the board

"So where do we start hunting?" Ghost asked

"Africa. Makarov's been using a local paramilitary group to move shipments into Sierra Leone. From there, they go towards Morocco, and into Spain." Yuri said, all while connecting the locations on the map with a marker

"He's moving north…" Desert muttered

"Right towards her majesty's doorstep. What's the cargo?" Roach asked

"I don't know… but it's important to him."

"Then I want it." Price said

"We can use the river to get in close. There's a factory in the camp where they store the shipments…" Ava said

"The PRF's been waging genocide in the highlands for months. They'll be everywhere." Neon said

"Makarov wouldn't let this travel lightly if it didn't serve a greater purpose… and chances are the bastard will be there personally to see things off. If he's back on the grid, then so are we." Price said

 **Five Hours Later**

 **Ghost's POV**

We surfaced from the river and loaded our M14s. We were going to have to do this stealthily, otherwise we were going to have a hell of a time getting to that factory.

"Nikolai, we're just outside the village." Price said

"Copy. I'll pick you up in one hour."

"The factory isn't far from here. Makarov's cargo should be there. Keep it silent. Let's move."\

We started moving up the river, trying to maintain as much stealth as possible. I looked around at everyone with me. We were going in with a small team, just Price, Soap, Yuri, Roach, and me.

"Soap, try not to die this time." Price said

"You worry about yourself, old man." Soap said with a chuckle

It took me a moment, but I realized that this was Soap's first time in the field since he was stabbed by Shepherd three months ago. It feels like a lifetime, but it wasn't that long ago. Same day that he tried to burn me and Roach alive. At least that bastard got what he deserved. Actually, he deserved a lot worse, but I'll just have to deal with it. I was so lost in thought that I didn't realize there was anything wrong until I was tackled by Roach.

"Are you trying to get us caught?" He whispered

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?" I whispered back

"Quiet!" He hissed

I didn't know what he was talking about until I heard a truck go past us and Soap killed a one of the militia. So that's what Roach was trying to tell me. I was one step away from getting us caught. I've got to get my head in the game. Just because I haven't been on a mission in a couple months is no reason to lose focus. Especially because it's me. I never lose focus. Price tells us to move and we continue to follow the road the vehicles just came down. Before we could get far, we found two more of the militia moving bodies.

"Two x-rays, eleven o'clock." I said

"Take 'em out." Price said

Roach and I line up the shots and take them down with a clean bullet to the head.

"Clear." Soap said

We walk past the bodies and into a nearby shed. Inside, one of the walls was blasted to pieces, allowing us to see through to the outside. And outside were a lot of hostiles surrounding a lone villager, who was on his knees, begging for his life.

"They're gonna torch the poor bastard." Roach said

"Let's light them up before they light him up." Price said

We all pick our targets and start taking them out. Within the span of a couple of seconds, they were all dead.

"Move." Price ordered

We moved around a corner and found a _lot_ of hostiles. I dropped to the ground and began looking through my scope. Just across the street from us, there were two tangoes holding a group of villagers with their hands bound.

"Hold your fire. There's too many of them." Price said "Don't do anything stupid, lads."

A group of vehicles drove down the road in front of us and the two tangoes executed the group of villagers. Once the vehicles passed and the two hostiles walked away, we continued to sneak around. We continue to move down the road, but more fucking pickup trucks started coming down to meet us.

"Get off the road! Get down! Now!" Price ordered

We all dove across a fence and into tall grass. How many of these fuckers are there? I mean, I know they've been killing the villagers here for a long time, but just how many of them are there? And why are they always in fucking pickup trucks?

"Easy… All clear."

We got up and moved into a shed. The thing was barely big enough to fit all of us inside of it. A group of militiamen walked past, and then we made our exit. Up ahead, there were two more militiamen on a bridge, just asking to be killed. I aimed through my scope and was about to pull the trigger when Price used his mystical power to see every fucking thing in the area.

"Wait for the truck to pass."

Seriously, how does he do that? I have no fucking clue. We all watched yet another fucking old ass pickup drive over the bridge before we were able to kill the bastards. We moved up to the bridge where Roach and I covered Price and Soap while they pulled the bodies off the bridge. We moved up a hill and started moving up the street the truck was moving on. We move up to the edge of the village, where we took cover and were waiting for Price to give the next order. Price was just taking cover, not even paying attention to us. That's when a militiaman started walking past us. Price grabbed him, tossed him against a wall, then proceeds to stab him in the back of the neck.

"I see the factory. It's just up the road." Roach said

"Right. Soap and I will advance. Yuri, Ghost, you're on overwatch. Get to a position on the roof and cover us."

We move to a guard post and continued to climb the ladder. Once at the top, we saw a lone guard sleeping on the job. I motioned for Yuri to take him down. Almost silently, he walked over to the guard and slit his throat. Once he was dead, Price and Soap started moving up.

"Hostiles approaching, five meters." Price said

Two militiamen walked out of a house ahead of them. We fired shots simultaneously. Price and Soap moved into the house the two militiamen were just in.

"Two more from the west. Take 'em down." Soap said

We fired two more shots, killing both men. They started moving up the road, but before they got very far, three more guards started moving down the road.

"Another patrol on the road. Take 'em out quick."

Before I could fire a shot, Yuri took all three out with a single bullet. "Show off." I muttered

"Not my fault that I'm a better sniper than you."

"You so sure about that?"

"I know it."

"Whoever kills the most guys by the end of the mission wins?" I asked

"You're on."

"Clear." Price said through the coms

"Clear? This place is bloody empty." Soap said

"Nikolai, the factory is a dead end. No sign of Makarov."

"He must have moved to the militia's headquarters at the center of town." Nikolai said

"We're moving there now."

"Heads up, we've got company."

Out of nowhere, every member of the militia that we snuck past suddenly came out from everywhere. They were coming from every direction, and they were all moving in on the factory.

"We're compromised!" Price yelled "Switch to your secondary!"

Both Yuri and I pulled out our assault rifles. He had an AK-47 and I had an M4A1. We jumped off the tower and started picking off the militiamen all around us.

"Seven… Eight… Nine…" I was muttering

"Run! Rally on me!" Price yelled "Push forward!"

We regrouped with Price and Soap and started taking out every hostile vicinity. I was up to thirty-five kills, but I don't know how many guys Yuri was up to, but I hope that I was winning. We kept carving our way through every single person with a gun in our way until we got to the church at the center of town. We had a few close calls with mortars, and Yuri was almost butchered and blown up, but we made it to their base of operations. The door burst open and a fucking hyena was running at us. I guess they don't have German Shepherds here. I shot it, then continued to kill every militiaman in the church. We stacked up at a set of doors on the left side of the church. The only thing we weren't prepared for was the hyena that nearly bit Yuri's arm off. I shot and killed the two militia members that were guarding the shipment. The only thing that sucked was that the shipment was already leaving before we could get to it. Well this situation couldn't get any worse.

"Damn! Nikolai, the shipment's gone. We missed out window." Priced said

"What about Makarov?" Nikolai asked

"Must've done a runner. Just get us out of here."

Soap pulled open a crate, but the damned thing was empty. What the hell could Makarov be transporting to Europe?

 **One Day Later**

 **Frost's POV**

We were all gathered around a TV, which was showing more breaking news.

'CHEMICAL ATTACK ACROSS EUROPE; Chemical weapons used in coordinated attacks across Europe. CHEMICAL ATTACK IN WESTMINSTER; A "dirty bomb" explodes in London.'

"At 6:22 Greenwich Mean Time, chemical attacks were triggered across Europe." A news reporter said

A computer across the room was relaying SAS's coms. One of the only live channels was Bravo-Six's leader.

"I repeat: Downing Street is within the contamination radius, over!" Wallcroft said

Most of the channels were beginning to go dark. Cpl. Griffen and Sgt. Lovejoy were among the fallen. I knew them. They were part of John Price's regiment. They were good men. Another distress signal was being broadcasted from France.

"This is GIGN HQ. My men are dead or dying!" He started coughing uncontrollably "I've been exposed!"

Yet another distress signal was being sent out from Ramstein in Germany.

I looked back at the TV and saw fucking Russian tanks rolling down the Camps-Élysées. How the hell could this have happened? Yet again, how the hell did the Russians get into America? I knew that we were going to be sent to Germany at any moment. And speak of the devil, a private came into the room telling us to get to the war room. Once there, we started getting orders from Overlord.

"Metal 0-1, this is Overlord actual. You are being re-routed for Hamburg. We've got a principle level hostage rescue."

On the war map, it started zooming in on Hamburg, Germany. It was locating someone codenamed Goalpost.

"Who is it?" Jake asked

"The Vice President."

Well shit. This situation just got a whole lot worse. So one helicopter ride later, and we were walking into the next D-Day. Or rather, most of us were crashing. On our way to the coast, I watched a Black Hawk and an Osprey go down. I don't know how many more went down.

"This is Helix 2-3, we're one minute out." Our pilot said

"Copy that, 2-3."

The chopper's lock-on alarm started ringing. I saw another chopper off our right side get hit with a missile.

"This is 3-2, we're hit, we're hit!"

"Helix 3-2, is hit, he's going down!" our pilot said

"Stay with it!" 3-2's pilot yelled

Helix 3-2 started losing altitude and crashed into the ocean. I couldn't see any survivors. Goddammit. Lot of good men on that chopper. But I have to focus on getting the Vice President out of this warzone. It won't be easy, but we have to get it done. I looked over at Jade. I hope that I can get her out of this alive too. I know my mission is to get the Vice President out of here, but if it comes between her and the VP, there's no contest.

"The convoy never made it to the extraction point. Let's find it and get these guys home." Sandman said to us."

The chopper landed, and we got off. Almost immediately, we started getting hammered by mortar and machine gun fire. This wasn't looking very good. If we couldn't get off this beach, then this mission would be over before it even began. We started moving up the beach, taking cover behind the rocks, trying to dodge the fucking mortars and tanks. This shit wasn't going to be easy. At least we've got tanks of our own. If it weren't for the extra support, I don't think we'd come close to getting off this fucking sand and onto blacktop. At least there, you're being shot at by bullets and not big ass explosives. Plus, it didn't help that there were Rangers yelling everything they possibly could.

"Mortars!" _No shit._

"Shit, man, we're getting pinned down with mortars!" _Really? I hadn't noticed._

"Keep moving! Use whatever cover you can find!" _I hadn't thought of that._

"Take cover behind the rocks!" _Already doing that._

"Don't stop! Get off this beach!" Sandman yelled _Really? Him too?_

"Get off this beach, now!" _Already trying to do that._

"Don't slow down!" Sandman yelled

"Hey, just get to the wall! That's where the rally point is!" _Rea- That's… That's actually kind of helpful._

That Ranger started sprinting towards a brick wall, so I got up and started following. If they could get to the wall, then I could too. Plus, it couldn't help that one of the tanks popped smoke. We moved up to the top of the wall, where a downed C-130 was laying in pieces. Oh, and you can't forget about the Russians that were all over the place. We must've been outnumbered Fifty to One. This wasn't looking good. At least we were able to kill them just as fast as they were killing us. We kept moving down the street, taking out any foot soldier we could see. The tanks took care of the T-90s that were rolling out of buildings. We turned left at a corner, taking out every single hostile in sight. I was trying to keep an eye on Jade, but it was damn near impossible to watch her and not get shot at the same time. We start moving forward, but the tanks rolled to a stop at a barricade. We walked up to the tank in the back.

"What's the hold up?" Sandman asked

"The only way through is in to that parking garage and out the other side! We're going to have to take it slow- not sure if it can handle the wei-" Carter started saying, but he was cut short when a bullet tore through his head

"Sniper!" I yelled

"Carter's hit! He's hit!" the gunner in the tank yelled

"Where are the targets?" the driver said

"Top floor of the building in front of you! Hit it now!" Jade yelled

The tank fired an explosive round into a building to the left of the garage. Once the sniper was down, everybody started to calm down.

"Frost, get up on the mini-gun!" Sandman said

After I got on the gun, we started to move forward, but a Havoc appeared over the garage. We started backing up, and the Havoc fired missiles at us. I dropped into the tank, and missiles exploded right in front of where I'd be sitting. I could vaguely hear the other tank asking us questions, but I was too shell shocked to pay attention. After I was able to focus, I got back up on the .50 cal. We started moving into the garage and I started shooting every Russian I could see. We started to make our way up the levels, but as we were going up a ramp to the next level, the floor started to crack.

"Woah! Woah! Wait!" the other tank driver said

"Back it up! Back it up!" I yelled

It was too late. The floor gave way underneath us. We started pounding down floor by floor. When we finally hit the bottom floor, I looked back at the floor we used to be on. Cars were falling down everywhere, including right at me. Wait, what? I dropped into the tank, hoping that the car wouldn't kill me. The car fell on the roof of the tank. I looked at the other two guys in the tank.

"C'mon, man. Let's get out there. Systems are dead… that shit was crazy, man."

I started getting out of the tank, and somehow, Sandman, Jade, and a couple Rangers were here. I don't understand how they could get down here so quick, but I'll take the help getting out of here.

"You guys ok?!" Sandman yelled

"Yeah. We're good." The gunner said

"Can you shoot?" Jade asked

"Yeah, I can hold my own."

"Alright, basics fellas. Find cover, return fire. Let us know if you need any help. Now we move fast, so keep your heads up. Let's go."

We started moving through the garage, but an armored truck came into the garage. Four Russians got out and started shooting. I grabbed some cover behind a wall and started firing back. Within a couple minutes, we cleared out all the hostiles. After they were dead, we ran out of the garage, and back out onto the street. After destroying a tank, taking cover in an office building, and then killing the rest of the tangos, we found the Vice President's convoy. All the Secret Service Agents were dead. One was laying on the horn of the SUV, so one of the Rangers pulled him off of the horn.

"Nothin' here!" the Ranger yelled

"They're not here… Overlord, negative precious cargo. I say again- they're not at the convoy." Sandman said

"Copy. Check the area for any sign of the delegates, but be advised- Raptor 4 will be on station for exfil in ten minutes, over." Overlord said

"Copy your last."

We continued to move along the street, and found a building with a large hole a building. On the floor was a large trail of blood. Someone was dragged through here unwillingly.

"Hey! There's a lot of blood over here! It's going up those stairs!" I said

"Easy." Sandman said

Shadows appear at the top of the stairs, but soon disappear. We all run to the top of the stairs where I saw a Russian close a door. A second later, two gunshots went off. We had to hurry if we're going to save the Vice President. I put a breaching charge on the door, then blew it. After the door exploded into pieces, we all rush in and kill the Russians. There's a dead man in a suit, but I don't know who it is. Sandman walked over to the living hostage.

"Look at me, look at me. It's him." He said

He helped the VP to his feet, and we started making our way outside to a balcony.

"Overlord, P.I.D. on the Vice President. We're ready for extraction." Sandman said

"Solid copy, 0-1. Great work. Raptor 4 is arriving on scene now."

We got outside as an Osprey was lowering to get us the hell out of here.

"Truck, Grinch- we got our guy." Jade said

"We're on our way to LZ Neptune. Meet us there." Sandman said

"Nice. I guess the first round's on us."

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter. As I've said, I won't be updating as often as I'd like, but I will get updates out as often as I can. So, again, please, R+R, PM, and thank you for reading.**


	21. Bag and Drag Iron Lady

A.N.: Hey guys, what's up? I know I said that I wouldn't be updating very often, but I'm able to get another chapter out tonight, so I hope you guys enjoy it. So, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy.

Tracking… Found

Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook

Delta Force

The North Sea

We were in the war room on the USS Reagan. We were receiving a call from Price, not the most popular guy with the United States Government, or _any_ government for that matter, but he was a close friend.

"Price, thanks for the tip on Kingfish. You should know Uncle Sam's got a Kill/ Capture order on your head." Sandman said

"Tell 'em to join the bloody queue." Price said

On the screen in front of us, the picture of a man appeared. He looked like he was about forty, was losing his hair, and like he was fat as hell.

"Makarov's bomb-maker, Volk, is in Paris. We need to act before he bolts and I can't make the window. You're the only one I trust with this."

"I'm on it." Sandman said

The screen started showing WMDs being assembled and put in Fregata Industries containers.

"The bastard used Fregata Industries to distribute the WMDs, I'm en route to their European HQ."

Price's transmission cut off and we started getting into contact with the French GIGN so they could help us find Volk. If they could find him soon, then we could just get the bastard.

Three Hours Later

They did it. They found him. Now we just needed to get the hell in there. We were being briefed by Overlord before we went in, so we knew exactly what we were walking into when we got there.

"French special forces have located Volk. GIGN tracked him deep behind enemy lines, but they're pinned down." Overlord said

"And you want us to unpin them?" Sandman asked

"Prosecute the target as needed, but Volk comes back alive."

We all went to the armory and picked up our weapons and gear, then got on a Little Bird. It was going to be a short flight to Paris, and we're going to be dropped right in the middle of the contamination radius. But that wouldn't matter. We've got gas masks, and we're going to kick any and all hostile's ass.

One Hour Later

We were moving in on Montmartre Hill, and I could see that Paris was hit hard by the attacks. We had planes dropping in reinforcements, but they won't do much help if they didn't get any air support. Like ODA 595. It was sad listening to their radio chatter.

"Any station, any station, this is ODA 595. All civilians in The Louvre are dead. Requesting decon units and medivac."

"595, this is Overlord actual. Negative. All US forces in Paris are engaged. Triage the civilians and move your team upwind of the plume."

We landed on the roof of apartment building. It was the best point of insertion around because of the fact that part of the roof was collapsed in on the apartment below.

"The area's still dirty from the chemical attack. Keep your masks on. Truck, we're on the deck and moving."

"Roger. I'll meet you at the LZ in one hour. Good luck."

We jump from the roof to the floor below and start moving through the apartment. There were a couple bodies on the floor. I guess they couldn't get out before the agent got to them.

"Metal 0-1, GIGN is pinned down at the Palme d'or restaurant. Get there fast or we'll lose the only shot we've got at finding Makarov." Overlord said

"Roger wilco."

We stopped at the end of a hallway, where Sandman took the vitals of the dead civies. He got no pulse. They were dead. Grinch, trying to lighten the mood, tried to make smalltalk.

"595 sounds like they got hit hard. Lot of rooks in that unit."

"No one's a rook today." Sandman said

I looked over at Jade. Up until Manhattan, she was a rook. Today reminded me a lot of then. The only difference that this was Paris and it was the Eifel Tower in danger of blowing up rather than the Statue of Liberty. We moved towards the edge of the building. There was a piece of debris in the way, so Sandman pushed it off the building and into the street below. We all started moving along the outer edge of the building. I looked down into the street below and saw many dead civilians. I wanted to look anywhere but down, but I needed to make sure that I wouldn't fall off the ledge.

"Watch your step." Jade said

"0-1, be advised, GIGN is taking heavy casualties. They won't last long. You'll need to double time it to make the RV." Overlord said

"Patch me through to 'em." Sandman said

"This is Sabre! How much longer?"

"Three minutes out. Just keep your perimeter secure. We're almost there."

"Please just hurry!"

"Let's go. This way! Move!"

We started to move through the building, trying to make it to Sabre and his team's position. If we couldn't get to them in time, then we'll have lost Volk for good. As we were starting to make our way down to ground level, windows started exploding.

"We're compromised!" Grinch yelled

"Contact, building across the street!" I yelled

"Go loud!"

And that's where one of the hardest battles of my life started. We moved down the stairs and out onto the street. The building the Russians were in as a two-story bookstore.

"Frost, Midnight, with me! Hit the bookstore!" Sandman yelled

We ran into the bookstore, killing every Russian in sight. Grinch remained in the apartment building providing overwatch. Within minutes, the bookstore was emptied of hostiles.

"Clear! Check the door!" Grinch said

We moved to a metal door that led to an alley. We all stacked up, checking our weapons and ammo.

"The restaurant's at the end of this alley." Grinch said

"Sabre, this is Sandman. Watch your fire to the north. We are coming to you."

"Copy that. Merde (Shit), we're glad to see you." Sabre said

We went into the alley just in time to see the last of the Russians get killed. At least there won't be a fight to get to them.

"À la, dépêchez!" (In here, hurry up!)

"It's the GIGN!" Jade said _Please, don't let her be infected by everyone else's Captain Obvious Syndrome._

"Allez!" (Go!)

"That's all of 'em?" Grinch said

I agreed with Grinch. There were only about half a dozen left alive. We ran into the restaurant's kitchen, where we found multiple GIGN casualties and Sabre.

"What's your status?" Sandman asked him

"Seven men standing." Sabre said

"Where's Volk?"

"The Russians launched the chemical attack from a staging ground in the catacombs. We believe Volk is still there."

"We got your six. Lead the way. Overlord, this is Metal 0-1. Link-up complete. We're en route to the HVI's location now."

We moved into the dining area of the restaurant and engaged more Russians. If we couldn't get through these guys then the mission would fail. We need to get to Volk. And the cluster fuck outside in the courtyard didn't help matters. There were Russians everywhere.

"We gotta get across the courtyard! Metal, lay down cover fire! Move! Move!"

We started to move out into the courtyard and began taking the Russians down one-by-one. We cleared out two cafés and the rooftops around the courtyard. We began to move towards a set of stairs at the end of the courtyard, but a group of Russians appeared at the top with fucking RPGs. Why do they have to be noob-toobers? Literally, only the inexperienced and the soldiers who are scared shitless use rocket launchers. Be a man and shoot at us with an actual gun.

"RPG! Top of the stairs!" Sandman yelled

We opened fire on the Russians and continued to move up the stairs. We continued to follow Sabre and his team through the streets. We turned into a building and killed more Russians. We moved through the second story and then dropped through a hole in the floor. We continued to move down the street and came to a large set of stairs. At the bottom, it looked like every Russian in the city was converging on our position.

"Boss, we got bad guys inbound!" Grinch said

"How many we got?" Sandman asked _How can he not see how many assholes are down there? It's not hard._

"Looks like Moscow down there! We're gonna need air support!"

"Warhammer, this is Metal 0-1. Request fire mission, over."

"Roger, Metal 0-1. Established in orbit at 12,000 feet. Full load. Mark your targets." The pilot said

"Frost, ID the targets with smoke!"

I pulled one of the smoke grenades from my vest and threw it as far as I could towards the trucks at the bottom of the stairs. And I guess I've got good aim, because I ended up hitting one of the Russians in the head.

"Target acquired. Going hot." Warhammer's pilot said

The AC-130's rounds rained down on the street, killing every tango in the area. Within seconds, the street was clear.

"Down the alley!" Sabre yelled

We went down the stairs and came to a plaza that was, wouldn't you know it? Full of Russians. We started taking them down when a nice little surprise rolled up the street: A fucking BTR.

"Midnight, BTR at the end of the alley! Put smoke on it!"

Jade popped out of cover to throw the smoke grenade, but she was hit in the chest by a bullet. That scared the shit out of me. I don't know if the bullet went all the way through. Without thinking or looking, I pulled out a smoke grenade and threw it in the direction of the BTR and ran to her side. I pulled her farther away from the Russians and behind one of the Russian's burned out trucks. She was groggy and was barely paying attention to anything. I looked at her vest and saw the bullet. It wasn't in her, so I figured I'd leave it alone. Better to not make her start bleeding when there's no medic here to help.

"Hey, Jade! Jade! Talk to me Jade!"

She started to groggily open her eyes. Okay, at least she's awake. I tried to think of what to do next, but she started talking.

"Hey, Derek, I'm okay. It hurts, that's all. Give me my gun and get me back into the fight."

Alright, if she can talk, then I'll just have to believe she's okay. For now. If she shows any sign that she's not okay, then I'm getting her the hell out of here.

"We're clear!" Grinch yelled

"The entrance is up ahead." Sabre said

"Metal 0-1, I am bingo on fuel. Give me ten mikes to gas up and rearm, over." Warhammer said

We started moving down the alley the BTR came down and found a manhole cover.

"Over here. The entrance to the catacombs!" Sabre said

We pulled up a manhole cover, revealing a ladder leading down to below ground. Everyone went down one-by-one. After everyone went down, I finally descended. Once I got to the bottom, I saw that Sandman was walking around and one of Sabre's men were standing guard. Of the seven that left the restaurant with us, he was the only one that survived.

"Checking for toxins. Hold up." Sandman said

After a few seconds, he gave the all clear to take off our gas masks. Once everyone was ready, Sandman told us that we needed to make sure that our signature was minimized, so we could only have one light source.

"Metal 0-1, Blue Force Tracker dropped the fix on your position." Overlord said

"We're in the catacombs. Proceeding to possible target location."

"Roger, 0-1. We're sending a Ranger QRF to your location. Mark your route with flares so they can locate your position."

"Roger your last. 0-1, out."

We moved down a set of stairs and continued farther into the sewers. As we continued moving along, Sandman began to drop flares every thirty meters or so. Grinch said something about the smell, but Jade said that it wouldn't kill him. And she's right. I'd rather be smelling shit than breathing in chemicals that will kill me. We eventually came to a bridge that crossed a waterway, and Sabre took us across.

"All clear. Move up."

"Where's the rest of the GIGN?" Sandman asked

"A chemical strike hit our barracks at Satory last night. Most of my men died within minutes."

"A friend of mine was at Satory." "Je suis désolé. (I'm sorry)… This is why Volk must pay for what he's done."

"He will. I'll see to that." Grinch said

We continued along the sewers until we came to a door with a sign on it. It read 'Danger'. The other GIGN guy, Faucon ripped off the lock with a crowbar while Sabre kicked the door open.

"Bienvenue." **(Welcome.)** Sabre said

"Stay sharp." Sandman said

We started moving through a tunnel, and came to a section where part of the tunnel wall caved in. What was left was a narrow crevice. We went under an exposed bar and moved past the rubble.

"This way. Approaching suspected location of HVI. 100 meters." Sabre said

We came into a round room where the walls were made out of hundreds of skulls and skeletons. There had to be thousands of different bones down here.

"How many bodies do you think are buried down here?" I wondered

"Don't know. Let's make sure we don't join them." Sandman said

We started to move through a hallway at the other end of the room. We got about halfway down the hallway when a Russian knocked a door down onto Sabre. Sabre shoots him through the door and pushes the body and door off of him. More Russians begin to shoot at us from the end of the hallway, but we were better shots. We began to push them back, but just as we were about to get to their control room, I heard one word I didn't want to hear.

"Flashbang!"

The damned thing went off, blinding me. I stretched out my hands, hoping to lean on the walls of the tunnel. I eventually found one and started to lean on it. When my vision came back, I saw Volk running for a metal stair case on the other side of the room.

"We got a runner!" Grinch yelled

"It's Volk!" Jade yelled after him

"Overlord! We have a positive ID on the HVI! In hot pursuit!" Sandman said

"Roger, 01. Remember we need Volk captured alive. He holds the only actionable intel on Makarov."

We cleared the room of Russians and then began to ascend the staircase. At the top of the stairs was another tunnel, filled with Russians and crates of supplies. Looks like these guys were planning on staying here a while. At the other end, Volk was climbing up a ladder.

"He's heading up the ladder!" Grinch yelled _You don't say?_

We cleared the hall and followed him up the ladder. We come to a room with another set of stairs. We went up those and went down a hall where we found a door to an uncontaminated part of Paris.

"Volk's getting in the grey sedan!" Grinch yelled

"Get in the blue van! Move!"

"You go! I'll cover you!"

With the GIGN's cover, the four of us get in the van. I got in the passenger side and pushed out the cracked windshield. Soon after, Grinch gunned it and we took off. Right down the road, two armored cars tried to create a roadblock, but Grinch just sped up, running one of the Russians over.

"Frost! I need you back here now!" Sandman yelled

Why he needed me when Jade was back there, I don't know, but I figured I'd help him if he needed it. I climbed into the back and started to shoot at the chasing Russians. Then a fucking tank pulled out onto the street. Great just what we needed. They began targeting us, but just as it went to fire, we drove down a set of stairs. When we hit the bottom, we crash into a side of a building, causing us to stop. The three of us begin holding off hostiles, Sandman shooting one poor bastard that tried to enter the van. Once we were able to, we took off. More armored trucks followed us, but a quick couple shots through the windshield, and they would crash and burn. And just when I thought we were clear, a fucking Hind showed up. Fucking terrific.

"Hind incoming!" Jade yelled

"Drive! Drive!" Sandman ordered

"Taking a shortcut!" Grinch said

We turned into a shopping mall, driving past rows of stores, destroying the kiosks in the center. Thank god this wasn't one of those malls that had trees on the inside. The only thing that sucks, is that the chopper didn't lose us when we went inside. It kept taking runs at us. But on the upside, Volk's sedan was driving right outside the mall. How we knew this, you ask? Windows.

"Got him!" Grinch yelled

"Frost, ride shotgun!" Sandman told me

I got back in the passenger seat, and Sandman told Grinch to floor it. We exited the mall through a set of double doors, with Volk's car right in front of us.

"Target is dead ahead!" Jade yelled

"Frost, take the shot!" Sandman ordered

I pulled my rifle to my shoulder, aimed down my sights and fired three shots at their rear tires. The rear left tire popped, causing them to veer out of control. It veered to the right and hit the side of a building. After that, Grinch slammed into the side, giving me a chance to kill the Russians inside. Once they were dead, we hit a small ramp, causing the sedan to be thrown into an industrial-sized dumpster. Once we had them pinned down, Sandman jumped right out.

"Rabbit vehicle is down! Get out!" he yelled

I calmly got out while Sandman ran forward and dragged Volk out of the shattered windshield, punching him and slamming him on the hood before finally dragging him to the ground. I turned my helmet cam on, knowing that Overlord would want footage of his capture for later.

"C'mere, asshole! This is Metal 0-1! Jackpot! Volk secure! Aren't you, you son of a bitch?!" Sandman yelled

"Bring him in for interrogation. We'll extract any intel he was on Makarov." Overlord said

"Truck, we've got Volk! We're on our way!" Grinch said

"Copy. Raptor 2's spinnin' up now." Truck said

 **Half an Hour Later**

 **Hendrix's POV (One of two new characters you'll get to know)**

I looked over at Sandler, my teammate. We had already regrouped with Team Metal, but we were only one half of the Ranger team Hunter 2-3. Actually, we were the only members left of Hunter 2-3. We were part of the siege on Hamburg, and the other members of our squad were killed on the beach. It was the D-Day of the 21st Century. Both Sanchez and Sanderson died as soon as they got off that fucking Black Hawk. It just sucks, you know? How two people who we got to know and got to grow close to just die, and there's not a damn thing that you can do about it. But I couldn't focus on their deaths right now. I had to help get Volk out of this city. If I don't, then their sacrifices would've been for nothing. Right now, our ride, a V-22 Osprey, was coming in for a landing. As long as we got out of Paris, then our mission would be accomplished.

"There's our ride. Get Volk! Let's go!" Metal Team's leader, Sandman yelled

"Move! Move!" His second in command, Truck said

"Убери от меня свои руки, ублюдок!" **(Get your hands off me, asshole!)** Volk said

I didn't speak Russian, but I could tell that he wasn't happy about being tied up. Everybody but Volk and Metal's guy, Grinch, started moving towards the bird. We wanted to make sure that the LZ was clear before we brought Volk anywhere near the Osprey. I guess it was a good idea, because the Osprey was hit by a fucking RPG. Oh, and the best part, the bird was crashing towards us. We all dodged the crashing plane, Sandler just barely.

"Overlord, primary LZ is compromised! Raptor is down! Moving to alternate!" Sandman said

We moved forward, taking cover behind various cars. This wasn't looking good. It was like fucking Moscow over here. There were Russian foot soldiers and tanks everywhere. Not to mention the fucking choppers nearly dominating the fucking airspace. We all began to shoot at the Russians coming our way as Sandman was working on getting _our_ air support to shoot the enemy armor. Eventually, they got the message, and the impending wall of doom was blasted to pieces. We continued to move forward, taking out every hostile we could see. If it weren't for Warhammer, we wouldn't have gotten this far alive. They kept hammering the enemy, blowing them to pieces. We eventually took cover in a hotel, unable to move forward, because there were hostiles pinning us down from the embassy across a courtyard. Warhammer sent a 105 round through it and cleared the hostiles out. Now all we had to worry about were the multiple Russians and the MG surrounding a monument in the middle of a courtyard.

"Building across the courtyard! Give me a 105 round right through it!" Sandman yelled

"Negative, Metal 0-1. We're under heavy enemy fire. Give us five mikes to circle back around."

"Alright. We'll draw fire. Truck and Frost, flank that MG so we can keep moving. Get ready. Go! Go!"

Two of Metal's men ran across the room to a flight of stairs. I could hear gunfire upstairs, so I'm guessing they found some Ivan upstairs. Within a couple minutes, the Russian on the machine gun was killed. We all moved out into the courtyard.

"Move! Move! C'mon! Grinch, keep Volk behind cover!" Sandman yelled

"Affirmative!"

Slowly, the seven of us began to push the Russians to the other side of the monument. Sandman gave us orders to stronghold the monument, so we all got in cover and started to take out the remaining Ruskies in the courtyard. If we kept this up, the Russians in this part of Paris would all be dead. Oh wait, I spoke too soon. Right after I thought that, a fucking Russian tank blew a hole in a wall and rolled right up to the monument. Shit.

"Talk to me, Warhammer, where we at? !" Sandman yelled

"Metal 0-1, we're back on station and available for ten mikes."

"We have enemy armor right in front of us! We're marking with smoke!"

Frost threw a smoke grenade at the tank, but I wasn't sure how dangerous the AC-130's rounds were going to be this close to us. Regardless, Warhammer fired the rounds, destroying the tank. We were up, but there were still a couple clicks between us and the LZ. At least we have a convoy inbound to get us there. We moved out to an intersection, but Warhammer had already cleared it of hostiles. When the Humvees pulled up, we got in and immediately took off for the LZ. Warhammer kept keeping the Russians off of our back, but that didn't help us when we got to a bridge leading to the LZ. I was in the lead Humvee, and just as we turned the corner to get onto the bridge, a rocket exploded on the side of the truck, flipping it upside down. I was tossed around a bit, but I managed to not get too banged up. I looked over at Sandler, and found him unconscious, his head bleeding. I crawled over to him, and started taking a look at him. He had a small gash over his left brow and below his nose. I started to lightly shake him, trying to get him to wake up. Eventually, I got him to open his green-gray eyes.

"Hey." He said

"Don't do that. You scared me." I said

"Hey, don't worry about me. I'll always be around to annoy you."

"Shut up and get back in the fight." I said, handing him his M4A1

After that, we crawled from the wreckage and began to clear the bridge of Russians. Eventually, we began to move forward to the middle of the bridge, which was our secondary LZ. After we cleared out our side of the bridge, we started to stronghold the position. Every single Ruskie that made an attempt at getting close was killed, either by us or by Warhammer. Eventually, and entire fucking column of tanks started rolling towards us, and that's where I began to get seriously worried. We didn't come this far just to fail, did we? No. I couldn't accept that. And apparently Sandman couldn't either. Since we didn't have any smoke grenades to throw, Sandman just told Warhammer to blow everything up north of the middle of the bridge. After that, two A-10s flew in and dropped multiple bombs, killing all Ivan that was trying to kill us. Unfortunately, the Eiffel Tower was damaged so much that it collapsed. The upside, we were finally able to get the fuck out of here. A Little Bird flew in and landed, giving us our ride out. We all hopped on, and finally got out of Paris. Least to say, this was a long and fucking stressful day.


	22. Eye of the Storm Blood Brothers

**A.N.: Hey, what's up guys? We've finally gotten to the dreaded chapter. Eye of the Storm, but most importantly, Blood Brothers. I think I've found a way for Soap to survive the mission, but you'll just have to wait and see what I've got in store for you guys. So, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Gary "Roach" Sanderson**

 **Task Force 141 Disavowed**

 **Unknown Location**

We were all gathered around the laptop in the safehouse, talking with Metal. I haven't actually seen the guys in over three years, but still, we were close. Ever since they helped us get the hell out of the cluster fuck we call Operation Kingfish, we've been close.

"Did our man talk?" Price asked

"They always talk. We got names, dates, locations. Volk gave us everything, even Fregata." Sandman said "It seems your hunch was right, Captain."

"Makarov's already making friends."

Video feeds popped up on the laptop, showing the Russian occupation of Prague. It even showed Makarov's convoy moving towards the city.

"He's meeting his top advisors six hours from now. Location is the Hotel Lustig. It's in the center of the city, near the old square." Sandman said

Ghost walked over to the board and started putting up the information. He got a map of Prague from the printer, how he got it that quick, I don't know, and pinned it up. He circled the location of the hotel.

"We have Tier One groups assigned to handle this, but I don't think they'll make it in time… but you're close."

"Very. I'll contact you when it's done." Price said

With that, the call with Sandman was ended. Price got up and started printing out pictures of locations around the square. One was of a church with a nice large clock tower, another was a building on the left side of the church. Then another of the building on the right side of the church. I guess we'll be watching all angles on this one. Makarov won't be getting away.

"Makarov's council all together in the middle of a warzone? Sounds convenient." Yuri said

"Overconfidence makes you careless."

Price drew the routes into all the different buildings. "We'll infiltrate along two separate routes. Soap, you, Yuri, Ghost, Jester, Hazard, and Boxer head for the church and other two buildings and provide overwatch." He said

"The city's locked down tight. We'll need a back door." Soap said

"Leave that to me."

 **Five Hours Later**

We were all sitting in a fucking sewer taking a break. So far we had used this fucking thing to get into the city, but our access was about to run out. About twenty meters ahead, the sewer ends. After a minute, Price flicked a cigar into the sewer, and we all jumped into it. We all began to swim to the opening, and up ahead was something that I didn't want to see. On the boardwalk up ahead, Russians were taking the Czechs prisoner. This wasn't going to end well for them.

"Hold up." Price said

"They've already taken prisoners. They're moving fast." Soap said

"We need to be faster." Ghost said

"Keep it tight, lads." Price looked back "And lasses. Use the boats for cover."

We started to swim through the water, using overturned boats and floating crates for cover. Once we were close enough, we all swam under the docks. Just after we got under, the Russians start to execute the civies and dump their body in the water. God, I want to shoot these assholes right now. But if I did that, then our op would be compromised. Then that bastard would get away and it'd be my fault.

"Easy… let them pass." Price said

After the Russians walked away, we swam out from under the docks and started moving for yet another sewer tunnel. Once inside, Russian Loyalists helped us up onto dry land.

"What took you so long?" Kamarov asked

I've never met the guy before, but he apparently went way back with Soap and even further with Price. But if they can trust him, I can too. At least for now. The last guy that my superiors trusted ended up shooting me and lighting me on fire. So you'll have to understand if I'm not the most trusting man in the world right now.

"Your intel was off, Kamarov. You said this area would be clear." Soap said

"I'm sure it was nothing you couldn't handle. Do you know what had to be done to get you this far?"

"Enough chit-chat. Everyone, best get on your way. We'll meet you at the rally point." Price said

"Let's go." Soap said

With that, we all started to head out. This wasn't going to be easy sneaking around with six people. But we've done harder things. We all started moving through the tunnels and stairways until we got to the street. Once we got topside, we were in an alley with multiple hostiles.

"Hold up. Got contacts. Twenty meters ahead. Stay low. We don't want to attract any attention." Soap said

We all got on the ground and started to wait and see what the guys were going to do.

"I've got five guys on foot and two snipers on the roof, you guys got anything else?" Jester said

"Affirmative. I've got one dog." Desert said

After a minute, four of the foot mobiles left the alleyway through an arch, leaving one foot-mobile, a dog, and two snipers.

"They're splitting up. Must be our lucky day. Ok, take the snipers first. They'll alert the others if you don't."

Soap and Yuri shot the snipers, then the guard and the dog on the ground. Without time to hide the bodies, we went out through the same arch, but before we could keep moving, Soap held us up. Out to the left side of the arch, there was a mass gathering of Russians. They were taking prisoners, locking down the city, everything. To get away from that, Soap led us to the right, down a street with more snipers on the roofs. There was even a two-man patrol coming our way. It was child's play to take everybody else. What wasn't easy was hiding from the chopper. Hiding six people from an aerial unit? Pretty hard. Soap informed Price about the snipers before leading us ahead. We keep moving down the street until Soap started hearing something weird.

"You hear that? Enemy convoy! Move! Now!"

We all ran forward to a building, hiding us from the trucks around the corner. Soap opened the door to the building and we all got down. As soon as I entered the building, there was something that smelled _wrong._ I looked around and saw what the smell was. There were dead civilians everywhere. That will help if they look in the store, the Russians could think that we were just more bodies.

"They're inside the building." Soap said

He was right. Russians on the far side of the room entered through a door. We all stopped moving completely. Once they moved on, we left the building, climbed over a dumpster and fence, and were hiding in an outdoor dining area, when we were stuck between twenty plus foot-mobiles and the BTRs behind us. We were screwed either way. But that's when Price came to the rescue. On the rooftop opposite us, him and Kamarov showed up with a large group of Loyalists. That's where the firefight started. One trip across the city dodging bullets and tanks later, we were at the building getting into position. Now it's time to play the waiting game. **(Yes, I just made a Family Guy reference)**

 **Seven Hours Later**

We were having a conversation over the coms while we were waiting for Makarov to arrive.

"Which vehicle will he be in?" Soap asked

"They constantly rotate for security. We won't know until he steps out." Yuri said

"You seem to know a lot about Makarov."

I agree. He just knows the places he ships his cargo to, he knows how his security is run, there's something that Yuri isn't telling us.

"Alpha one, radio check, over."

"Bravo one, copy. We're dug in with line of sight." Soap said

"Charlie one, copy." Ghost said

"Delta one, copy." Desert said

"Right. Kamarov's our eyes and ears inside the hotel. Once he gives us the nod, we'll kick this off. What do you see?" Price asked

"Bugger-all, mate. Looks like Makarov's late for his own funeral."

"Sit tight until we can get a clean shot. Then you can put as many rounds on him as you like."

"It'll only take one."

 **Price's POV**

I was on the roof of the hotel, waiting for Kamarov to give the go-ahead to assassinate Makarov. I took out a pair of binoculars and started looking for Makarov's convoy. And low and behold, there it was.

"Heads up. Makarov's convoy is arriving now." Price said

"I see it. Four armored vehicles." Soap said

"They're stopping in front of the hotel." Roach said

"Do you see him?" I asked

"Aye. There's the bastard. Third vehicle." Soap said "Shite. I think he's looking right at us."

"Easy, just sit tight." I said

"They're pulling into the garage now." Hazard said

Alright, by now the only person who can have eyes on Makarov is Kamarov. I told him that it was time to for him to make his move. He didn't respond, but we didn't have time to wait. Once Yuri found me in his scope, I started to rappel down the hotel, up until I was holding position just above a balcony with at least two guards on it. Once everybody had cleared it out, I fast roped down to the balcony and made my way inside the room. With the help of everybody else, we cleared the room in less than a minute. Once the hostiles were all dead, the elevator opened and that's when I knew that Makarov knew we were coming. Covered in C4, tied to a chair was-

"What the hell? Price, who is that?" Soap asked

"Kamarov." I said

"I'm sorry, Price." He said

"Captain Price. Ад ждет тебя. **(Hell awaits you.)** " I heard Makarov say

The C4 began to beep and I just ran for a window. I launched out one and landed on top of a car. If it weren't for that, I probably would've broken my arm. I got up and immediately looked around, and saw Soap and Yuri's position explode. Oh god, Soap wasn't up there, was he? No. I could see the two of them falling down the scaffolding. I took off at a sprint towards them. I had to get to them before the Russians. If Soap dies, I don't know what I'll do. He's the closest thing to family I have. When I got to them, I saw Soap buried under rubble. I called his name, but almost got shot. I turned around and fired a grenade out of my M203, then pulled the rubble off him. I took a look at him.

"Look at me! You're alright!" I said to him

I ran over to Yuri and pulled him to his feet. I told him to grab Soap, then told everybody else to move their arses to get to us. We all needed to regroup if we were going to get out of here alive. We started to run through the streets and pretty soon Charlie and Delta were regrouped with us. We were going to continue running up the street, but a bloody helicopter flew in the middle of it.

"Enemy bird! Get off the road!" I yelled

We ran through a gate and I used my M203 to blow a hole in a wall. We ran through the building and emerged in a small square area in between four buildings. Yuri set Soap down against a dumpster.

"Just patch me up. Get me back in this." Soap said

"It's not safe here. We have to move." Price said

"Price, you sure that's a good idea? He's using a lot of blood. If he doesn't get patched up soon, he's going to bleed to death. We can stronghold this position until he's okay to move." Desert said

She was right. If Soap wasn't patched up soon, he was going to die. And I couldn't let that happen. He was like a son to me and I couldn't let him die. If he died, then a part of me would go with him, and I've already lost too much. Ghost got right to work pulling gauze from his belt and started wrapping Soap's wound with it. All the while, no Russians tried to come for us, which was weird. Once Ghost was finished, I handed my M4A1 to Yuri and picked up Soap. Once we were on the move again, the Russians started coming from everywhere. We moved across a small square, then through a store, then down a small street. Once all the hostiles were cleared there, we moved across a basketball court, where we took cover behind concrete gardens.

"Price! UAZ!" Roach yelled

"We made it, Soap! Just hold on!" Price said

We continued to hold off the Russians, and just when that bloody UAZ started to move in, the Resistance started to come out and help. The Ghost and Roach picked Soap up and we moved through the safe house to the basement. It'll be safest down there. Once we were down there, Soap started to babble something.

"What is it, son?" I asked

"Price, Makarov knows Yuri." He said before passing out

We all looked at Yuri, whose face looked a couple shades lighter.

"Yuri, what the bloody hell is he talking about?" I asked, starting to get angry

"I was young and patriotic when I first met Vladmir Makarov. It was 1996. Imran Zakhaev was about to make a deal that was going to make the Ultranationalist party the strongest in Mother Russia. We were in Prypiat, and Zakhaev was buying spent fuel rods. I remember Makarov shaking me awake. He said 'Yuri, wake up. Zakaev wouldn't want you to miss this. This deal will generate millions for our cause. Money can buy many things. Even power. The road to our future begins here, my friend.' Zakhaev was arguing with a man, but halfway through the negotiations, Zakhaev's left arm was ripped from his body. That's when I heard the sniper shot. I ducked for cover while Imran got in the passenger seat. Zakhaev never forgot what we did for him that day. Our reward was power. But power corrupts. It was in 2011 when I realized that Makarov was losing his mind. 'Today we show the world our true strength. Perhaps it will give you some as well.' He said. His phone rang, he answered. 'Is everything ready? Do it.' Then the nuclear bomb detonated. Thousands of souls extinguished by the push of a button. 'Understand, Yuri. This is only the beginning.' He said. It wasn't until three months ago that I had to stop him. He was going to slaughter innocent people in the heart of Russia. I couldn't just stand by and let him do it. This wasn't war. It was madness. 'I know what you have done, Yuri. I know what you have told them. My friend. My ally. My betrayer. What happens here today, will change the world forever. Nothing can stop this. Not even you.' With that, he shot me and left me for dead in a parking garage. I was a soldier of Russia, not a taker of innocent lives. But in his eyes, this marked me as the enemy. I managed to get to the main floor, but I couldn't stop them. I later woke in a hospital and eventually, I found Nikolai."

"Okay, Yuri. You've bought yourself some time. For now." Price said


	23. Scorched Earth

**A.N.: Hey, what's up guys? Indeed this is my second chapter in one day, but I'm able to write a second one so I am. And don't worry. I'll be able to use my own computer soon, so once I'm able to do that, I'll start writing for my other stories. I just don't want to do so without my notes on which OC is who and what they do. So please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **SSgt. Riley Sandler (The second OC that I've created)**

 **Delta Force**

 **Berlin, Germany**

"Makarov's tracked Vorshevsky's daughter to Berlin. If they find the girl, it's only a matter of time until he finally gives up the launch codes." Overlord said

He was right. If Makarov got ahold of those launch codes, we wouldn't recognize the world tomorrow. But Makarov would only break the President if his daughter was involved and being tortured. Hendrix and I have been assigned to provide support for Delta Team Metal for this op. It was going to be simple. Go in, provide overwatch for Granite, then get out before we die. Simple. Right now, we were with Metal tracking Alena Vorshevsky.

"Do we have her exact location?" Sandman asked

"Triangulating now."

"ISA cell phone snipers just intercepted a call from her." Overlord said

"Patching you through in three, two, one."

"Alena Vorshevsky?" Sandman asked

"Кто это?" **(Who is this?)**

"American Special Forces. Do you speak English?"

"Yes. My security's dead. They're coming for me."

"Stay calm. We're en route to you now. Where are you exactly?"

"Closet, fifth floor suite."

"Which side?"

"I don't know. There's a building across the road… sign on the roof says Reisdorf. Please hurry!"

"Okay, put the phone don't move. We'll come to you."

"Atena is still with us. Weapons tight and don't throw any shots."

Half an Hour later, we were flying over the capital of Germany, and the city looked like it has seen better days. Hell, haven't we all? But seriously, rocket fire and tanks were tearing the city apart. Grinch said something about it too. Sandman turned to Frost and told him what we were doing for the fifteenth time. I guess he just wants to make sure that there are no screw ups with this mission. If we mess up, then Alena will fall into the hands of the Ultranationalists and Makarov will get those launch codes. As we fly towards a group of buildings, an RPG took out one of the other Little Birds. The helicopter went into a tailspin, its engine flaming. I watched as the crew and passengers fell to the ground. I knew there wouldn't be any survivors.

"Bird is down! Bird is down!" Sandman said

We finally landed on the building with the sign Reisdorf on it, where we were going to provide overwatch for Granite. Once the building was clear of hostiles, that is.

"Metal Team is on the deck, Viper-5 going into holding pattern." Our pilot said

With that, they flew away and we engaged the Russians. We moved into the building and up a flight of stairs. When we get to the top, a Russian tried to shoot Sandman, but he grabbed the guy's gun and his throat, pushing him towards a row of windows, and ultimately off the side of the building. It's got to suck for that guy. At least the fall won't kill him. It's that sudden stop at the bottom.

"We need to get to the roof!" Sandman said

Gee, you think? We continue to move throughout the floor, which is covered in office cubicles. Every Russian I could possibly see was killed once my crosshairs were aimed at them. They didn't stand a chance. On the far side of the room, the floor was collapsed, allowing us to use the fallen section of floor to move to the next level. Once up there, we repeated what we did on the floor below. Once every Russian was dead, we moved on to the roof. Once there, I could see multiple tents with radios and other pieces of equipment. Oh, and the Russians that were using them. Before they could put up much of a fight, they were all killed. With that, we moved towards the northwest corner of the roof.

"This is Metal 0-1, roof secure. Green light on Granite. Frost, get on overwatch!" Sandman said

Frost then pulled out an M14 EBR and started to clear the hotel's roof of hostiles. That hotel was fucked up. Like seriously, it was missing five floors out of its southwest corner. And it was a really big chunk that was taken out of the building. Whatever hit that building intended to level it, but must've misfired. I pulled out my own and started to scan the street. There were multiple Russians, but nothing that should prevent Granite from completing the mission. I looked back at the roof of the hotel, and saw more Russians coming out of a doorway on the left side of the roof. Frost and I started to pick them off, but Midnight spotted something I didn't down in the streets below.

"T90s on the road!" She yelled

How did I miss that? Those things are fucking huge! How the hell do I just not see huge fucking tanks?

"Overlord, we have Russian tanks firing on Granite's position. Requesting fire mission!" Sandman yelled

"Solid copy, 0-1, the air corridor is clear for our A-10s to commence gun-runs." Overlord said

"Metal 0-1, this is Valkyrie 2-6. In the airspace and at your service. Standing by for you to mark the first target."

"Hit the tank on the street!" Sandman yelled

Frost pulled out a pair of targeting binoculars and started to mark the gun-runs. After a few of them, all the tanks were down.

"Thanks for the guns, Valkyrie. We'll take it from here." Truck said

"Armor's down, Granite. You're good to go." Sandman said

"Copy. Thanks for the assist. We owe you one." Redcell, Granite's leader, said

"Maintain eyes on the building."

The team rappelled through the destroyed section of the hotel and stack up by a door. They breached, and started to shoot. I couldn't see inside, so I didn't know how many hostiles they were up against. They were on their own in there.

"Granit, have you got eyes on Athena?" Sandman asked

"Affirmative! Shit! Left side! Got two more! Get out! Get out!" Redcell yelled

I saw two of them try to get out of the room, but it exploded, engulfing them in flames. They were gone. There was no way we were going to get to Alena now.

"Granite! Granite!" Sandman yelled into the coms

"They're gone." Truck said

"What the hell?!" Frost said

"Overlord, Granite team is down. I repeat, eagles down. We're going after Athena." Sandman said

"Affirmative, Sandman. Link up with the German tank column south of your position and proceed to the target building, over." Overlord said

"Solid copy. Sandman out. Hook up, we need to hit the street."

We all started to move to the eastern side of the building. There was a rail where we pulled out rope and hooked up to it. After hopping over it, we all started to rappel down to the street below. As we moved up, we could see a downed Little Bird. It was the one I saw get shot down before we landed on the roof.

"Got some casualties here." I said

"Grab their patches and tags. And get SAR birds in here and get 'em out." Sandman said

"Rog'." Truck said, then he sighed as he looked at one of the fallen's tags "It's Onyx Team. Overlord, this is Metal 0-2. I need evac for three casualties. Coordinates follow: Seven Romeo Eight Five One."

"Copy that 0-2. We'll send in a SAR bird for evac." Overlord said

"Not a good day to be Delta." Grinch muttered

We continued to move and went up a staircase in a parking garage. We emerged in the street above, but there was a fucking T90 in the street with infantry are attacking three German tanks from across the bridge.

"American team! We have Russian armor firing on the bridge. WE need you to take out their tank!" The German Tank Commander said

"They got a T90 dug in straight ahead!" Hendrix said

"Frost, take care of it! We'll cover you! Grab an RPG and take out that tank!" Sandman ordered

Frost picked up an RPG off the street and aimed it for the T90. With one shot, the tank was down.

"Good hit. Let's go, move out!" Sandman said

We continue to move forward with the German tanks. Hopefully, with their help, we should get through these streets a lot easier. I turned a corner to move down the main street, but I realized that wasn't possible. I saw all of the shops with windows and the overturned busses, there was just way too much cover for the Russians to use and not enough for us. This was going to be a slaughter.

"Keep moving with the tanks! Use them for cover!" Sandman said

We kept using the tanks for cover, moving up with them. Thank god I had the foresight to put some earplugs in before we left. If it weren't for the earpiece in one ear and the earplug in the other, I'd be deaf from the tank firing off rounds with me so close to it. But the Russians were beginning to feel the pressure. As we kept killing more of them, they began to retreat.

"They're falling back! Press the attack!" Sandman said

But as one of the tanks is passing one of the larger buildings on the left, an explosion destroys the support columns. We were all knocked over from the blast, but Frost was almost hit by a car that was thrown by the explosion. The building that blew up began to collapse into the street, raining desks and debris. A piece of debris hit me in the head, and I began to pass out. I woke up I don't know how long later to see Sandman helping Frost to his feet. I pulled myself up, but everything was muffled and echoing. It was impossible to hear anything direct. After a few minutes, my hearing begins to return.

"It's an ambush, we've got to get the hell out of the killzone! Move! Move! Head for the building!" Sandman said

We all run for the same building that just fell on everybody. As I run for it, I can see three soldiers on the ground trying to recover from the blast. If they didn't get to their feet soon, they were going to be killed. But I couldn't worry about them. I had to focus on getting Athena out of this cluster fuck.

"Metal 0-1, we've lost contact with the German division commander. What's the status on the ground?" Overlord said

"The tank column is down and we're getting overrun! This A.O. is lost!" Sandman yelled

"Missed your last, 0-1. Say again."

"They dropped a damn building on us!"

"Sandman, advise immediate pull back to the extraction point."

"Negative, overlord. We're going for the girl. Her beacon is still active."

"You'll need to move fast. Berlin is falling. We'll maintain ISR, over."

We start to move through the sideways building, walking on whatever walls were stable enough to survive the fall.

"Through here." Sandman said

"They must have rigged the building to blow if our tanks got this far…" I said

"Man… this is some bullshit." Hendrix said

We start to move down a couple floors and we slide down a pile of rubble. As we do so, the building shakes. Cause the fact that I'm in a warzone didn't scare me enough. Now I have to worry about a fucking building falling down on me.

"This thing's going to come down on us any second." Grinch said

"Just keep moving." Truck said

We keep moving, stepping over gaps, past a destroyed tank. I'm guessing that was the tank that set this whole thing off. Eventually, we found a door that said 'Nur Personal' on it. Sandman bashed the door open, and just in front of us was the hotel.

"There's the hotel!" Sandman yelled

We all started to rush forward, killing every Russian along the way. We moved into the main lobby of the hotel. We begin to push to the far side of the room where there's a staircase.

"Overlord, we're at the target building! Any update on the girl?" Sandman yelled

"They're moving her to the third floor for extraction. You have zero time."

"We're losing her! Go! Go! Head for the roof!"

We moved down a set of stairs and took out the Russians in the building as well as the ones right outside. We moved across the lobby to the staircase where we started to climb. I swear, I've never climbed a set of stairs so fast in my life.

"Up the stairs! Get to the roof!" Sandman yelled

"Metal 0-1, ISR shows they're extracting the girl now. Advise you stand down and head to an alternate LZ." Overlord said

"No! We can make it! Frost, this way!"

We all make it to the third floor, and I could hear the poor girl screaming for help. She was trying to let us know where she was. It was the door at the end of the hall. A few hostiles appear at the end of the hall, but we kill them quickly.

"Get that door open! GO!" Sandman yelled

Sandman and Frost stacked up at the door, and Sandman had just started to open the door when a beep was heard and the door exploded. The two of them were thrown back and two Russians stepped in. Before any of us could do anything, Frost took Sandman's pistol out of its holster and shoots the two men. Getting up, Frost pushes Sandman to his feet, and we all run outside.

"HELP ME!" Alena screamed from the inside of a Hind

Grinch pulled up his MK14, but Sandman pulled the rifle down, and Grinch missed the four shots that fired. The helicopter just slowly flew away into the distance.

"We can't risk it!" Sandman said, waving his arm "Overlord, negative precious cargo. We lost her."

We all looked at the Hind as it flew away, and we just sat there as we waited for a chopper to come and pick us up. This was not the kind of ending I was hoping for this mission.

 **Two Hours Later**

We were in the war room on the carrier, hoping to get into contact with Captain Price of the outlawed Task Force 141. I don't know why we were trying to contact him, judging by the fact that they were all American war criminals, but if Sandman thought they could help, then they'll help.

"Price- we lost the girl. Looks like the helo took her to a diamond mine in Siberia." Sandman said

"We're gonna have one shot to grab the President before he gives up the launch codes and Makarov turns Europe into glass. Once we get boots on the ground it's going to get lively down there." Price said

"Hopefully you can keep up old man." Sandman joked

"I know you Yanks like to take all the credit so Yuri and I will keep the neighbors in check while we rool hard to secure the hostages."

The diamond mine site popped up on the large screen dominating one wall. It showed an underground bunker, and another elevator was shown off to one side of the mine.

We started to make a game plan, then we started to leave to get ready. That's when everything went sideways and I blacked out. I woke up in the sickbay, and I looked around. Frost was in the bed next to mine, and Hendrix was sleeping in a chair next to my bed. Her head was laying on the side of my bed. I moved my arm and stroked the stray pieces of hair behind her ear. But because she was an _extremely_ light sleeper, this was enough to wake her up. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Hey, you scared me there." She said

"Why?" I asked

"You collapsed out of nowhere when we were about to head out on another mission right after getting a building dropped on you. Why do you think I was worried?"

"Hey, a fucking building isn't enough to stop me. I'm gonna be alive and kicking for a while. How's the op going?"

"Last I checked, which was about half an hour ago, they had just linked up with Captain Price and that other guy. They should be almost to the President by now. Why don't you get some rest? You hit your head pretty hard when you fell."

"I'm up now, I'm not going back to sleep." I looked over at Frost "Why's he here? Shouldn't he be out there with the rest of his team?"

"Riley, the dude has taken a beating in the past couple weeks. All of it's starting to catch up to him. I mean, first, they fought in New York, then in Hamburg, he was in a tank that fell through three floors of a parking garage, you were with them in France, and then yesterday, he had a building dropped on him, then a door exploded and Sandman was thrown back onto him. I'm surprised that all he's walking away with are a couple cracked ribs and a minor concussion."

"Alright, alright."

I was about to say something else when Midnight walked in the door. She looked like she had been crying, so I knew that something was wrong.

"Midnight, what's up?" I asked

"It's Metal. They're dead."

 **Dunn dunn dunn. So that's where this chapter ends and I'll try to see if I can't get another one up by the end of the night. I'm trying to write as many chapters as I can as quick as I can. So, hopefully, you'll get my next chapter before tomorrow morning. Maybe even a little into tomorrow morning, who knows? But I hope you guys enjoyed that, and I hope you guys will continue reading. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**


	24. Inebriated Reminiscence

**A.N.: Hey guys, what up? This is one of the final chapters of this story. It's really just a filler chapter and it's not my best writing, but I'm starting to wind the story down, and I have a question for you guys. I'm going to create a Black Ops story when this one is over, but my question is, what would you guys say if I combined the Black Ops and Modern Warfare timelines. I kind of already did when I created Metal's names, but what if the characters were actually able to meet each other? Let me know what you guys think. But enough of me talking (or rather typing), on to the story. So please, R+R, PM, and enjoy.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook**

 **Delta Force**

 **Somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea**

I couldn't believe it. They were dead. Sandman, Truck, and Grinch were dead. All that were left of Metal were me and Jade. There was nobody left. But now I was the commanding officer, if you can call a Master Sergeant an officer. That's another perk of them dying, I was promoted. But I feel guilty how I was promoted just because three of my closest friends died. And now they're sending us to some base in Colorado. I guess that was where the new base for the Task Force 141 was. We were being sent there so we could help them in their search of Makarov. And I know I keep saying 'we', I mean Midnight, Sandler, and Hendrix. They were reassigned to our unit after we got news of everyone's death. Right now, we were in a Black Hawk flying across the Mediterranean. Once we link up with the Task Force, we should be getting right to work with tracking down Makarov.

 **Four Hours Later**

Right now, I was so drunk, I didn't know which way was up. We were at some bar in the middle of… fuck I didn't know. We went out drinking to mourn the deaths of all those that we've lost, and I just kept drinking whiskey, but I lost count of how many I'd had around the tenth glass. I've just been so depressed over the deaths of them that I just continued to drink until the pain started disappearing, and then some more. I looked at the bottle sitting on the table, and I saw that it was completely empty. Well, I guess this is where I stop drinking and somehow find my way back to base. I don't even know where anybody is anymore. I lost track of everyone around my third glass. I guess I'm on my own here.

 **Hendrix's POV**

I was hanging all over Sandler. We were both piss drunk and could barely stand up straight. Scratch that, we couldn't even stand up straight. We were trying to make it outside to hail a cab and get home. I mean, we took a couple trucks, but none of us were sober enough to drive. We walked outside, stumbling the whole way. After a few incoherent yells, we finally got a cab to stop. I know they won't be able to take us into the base, but they could drop us off just outside. We got into the cab, and told him, in a very slurred way I might add, where to go. After a nice fifteen minute car ride, we finally arrived at the base. He asked for his tab, and I think I handed him a ten, but I wasn't sure. After that, he left, we showed the guy at the gate our , and we stumbled inside. After a while, we finally found the barracks. The hard part was finding the room they gave us. I guess we were going to have to hope for the best. We just went to the first room we saw and closed the door. Then, without even thinking, we were kissing. I didn't kiss him, but I feel like he didn't kiss me. I feel like we kissed each other. Soon, we started removing each other's clothes and getting into one of the beds. After that, I couldn't really remember anything.

 **Soap's POV**

I was with Neon, who was drunk off of her ass. But then again, everybody was. But not me and Price. We were the only two who were actually sober. I don't know why I was. I mean, I nearly died, I lost almost every person that was under my command, and I'm in love with a girl who doesn't even notice me as anything more than her commanding officer. Aye, my life really sucks at the moment. Bloody hell, my life's sucked for the past five years. First, I start my first day in the SAS on the same day that we take part in that civil war Russia was going through, then we lose just about everybody in our squad. We lost Gaz, Griggs, Mac, Lovejoy, Arem, Barton, and Redgrave all in a matter of days. I didn't get to know the last four very well, but Griggs and Gaz were like brothers, even if we only knew each other for a couple of days. Ghost actually reminds me of Gaz. I mean, they both have the same accent, they were both protective of what they wore on their heads (Ghost his mask and Gaz his hat), and they both were lieutenants. I just really miss having them around. They were my second family, and they all died right in front of me. Well, everybody except for Mac. He died trying to cover our retreat back at Al-Assad's safehouse. But the death I feel most responsible for is Griggs. He died trying to save me. He pulled me away from that burning car, then started suppressing the hostiles that were moving in on our location. If he would've just left me alone, he might still be alive today. If he had just taken cover and waited for one more minute, Kamarov and his men would've arrived. They would've shot the guys that killed him and he'd still be with us today. I just hate how those Russians have taken almost everything from me, and Shepherd. He took a lot from me too. I was lucky that he didn't decide to totally torch our side of the base. I was able to recover my photo album that I kept in my room. I try not to get too attatched to objects, but these are all I have left of the fallen. Without these, I have nothing from my days in the SAS besides my fucking dog tags and Price. Never thought that Price would be a relic I'd hold onto. But that man is like a brother and a father to me. If I lost him, I don't know what I'd do. He's the only family I have left. Sure, I have the team, but they're not the same as Price. He's been around a lot longer than anybody. I've already had to bury my parents, and my brother won't talk to me because I'm always halfway around the world, so Price is the only family that I have left. If I lose him, I have almost nobody. But I guess that's life in the military for you. One moment you're surrounded by people who care about you and love you, the next, you're putting them six feet in the ground. That's the thing about war, if you get too attatched to anything or anyone, it can and will be taken from you. War will find some twisted way to take everything you know and love away from you.

"Soap? What's wrong?" Neon asked, very slurred

I can smell the alcohol on her breath and I do have to say, I don't like it. I don't know how many drinks she's had or what she's been drinking, but I'm cutting her off now. I don't need everybody sporting a hangover in the morning.

"Nothing, lass. Don't you worry about it." I said

She's staring at something on the table and I wait for her to say something back, but then I realize that she's fallen asleep. I scoop her into my arms and start carrying her back to the jeep. We had enough people coming that we had to take three of them. I try to find anybody else that's drunk enough that needs a ride back to base, but I can't seem to find anybody in the crowd. I guess they'll just have to find their own way home. I wonder where the old man has gone off to. Either way, I need to get this lass back to base, so I put her in the passenger seat then take off for the base. It's actually a pretty nice base. Nice change over the heat of that bloody desert. I mean, I'm from Scottland and that's on the northern end of the United Kingdom, so it's pretty cold up there. I like the nice cool breeze that blows off the Rockies. After another ten minutes of driving, we finally arrive back home. I show the guy at the gate my I.D and we head in. I park the jeep, then grab Neon out of the passenger seat. It takes a little while, but I finally manage to get her across base and to the barracks. Once there, I put her in her room, then leave before she ends up waking up. I go back to my room and immediatley go for the photo album in the top drawer of my dresser. I open it up to the first page, and it shows me on my first day at the SAS. I didn't even have my mohawk yet, so I look like a completely different person. Not to mention the absence of the scar on my left eye. In this photo, I wouldn't gain that scar for another two years. I start to flip through some other photos and laugh at some. One of them showed Griffen running with Mac's beanie. He was as protective over that thing as Price was about his boonie hat. Speaking of which, he might want to get a new one. He's still using the same one he's had since I started in his squad. The hat's seen some better days, but it still works for the old man, so he keeps it. Another one shows Price and Gaz with Griggs and Lieutenant Vasquez. I never met Vasquez, but from what Griggs had told me, he was a bit of a hard ass. He was killed in the Middle East when Makarov detonated the nuke. Same as Griggs' friend Sergeant Paul Jackson. He was on the same helicopter as Vasquez. Apparently a Cobra was shot down, but a pilot survived, so they went in for a Search and Rescue. They got the pilot out, but they weren't far away enough from the nuke, and their Sea Knight was knocked out of the sky by the shock wave. Bloody shame. Part of the reason why I got to know Griggs in the first place. If his squad hadn't died, then he probably wouldn't have been in Azerbaijan to get us out of there. But I guess it's whatever, ya know? Things happen for a reason, so I'll just have to roll with it. In anohter photo, it shows me, Ghost, Sandman, and Price on the day of Operation Kingfish. Roach had just taken it when we weren't paying attention, and it was just added to the album. That was the day that I thought Price had died. It was also the day I gained the scar on my face. But if it weren't for Price, none of us would've made it out of that place alive. I'm grateful for it, because that meant that I could start this team and if I hadn't done that, I don't know what I'd be doing right now. I look at the clock, and see the time. It's three in the fucking morning. Well, I guess right now, I'd be sleeping. But I'm gonna want to rest up. Tomorrow, it's time to start hunting for where Makarov is hiding.


	25. Holidays

**A.N.: Hey guys, what's up? I'm fast forwarding this about a month, to right around the holidays. I'm going to start this right around Thanksgiving, and it's going to end right around midnight on New Year's Day. Without further ado, I'll let you guys get reading. So, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Sgt. Gary "Roach" Sanderson**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Colorado**

It was one of my favorite times of the year. Today was Thanksgiving, in another few weeks, it'd be Christmas, and a week after that, New Year's. Today was my second favorite holiday of the year. I mean, who doesn't love a day where you get to eat as much food as possible. And the best thing about having a base in the middle of the United States, is that we can just go to a store and get everything to make a full Thanksgiving dinner. I always loved helping cook as a kid back home, and I've loved Thanksgiving ever since the Americans on the team showed it to us. We don't celebrate the holiday the same way in England, but we still celebrate it in a way. But we were celebrating this the American way, and it was going to be fun. I walked into the kitchen to find Dunn, Ava, and Liz in there. Dunn was cooking the turkey, Ava was making stuffing, and Liz was making some delicious smelling smashed potatoes. Smashed potatoes are so much better than mashed potatoes. And there is a difference, mind you. With mashed potatoes, you skin them before you put them in the pot to boil. With smashed potatoes, you leave the skins on, then put them on to boil. They are soooo much better and I couldn't wait to have them. While Liz wasn't looking, I grabbed a spoon and snuck a bite. Oh god, this was good. Just the right amount of spices. And not to mention how creamy it was. I was in love with her and I was in love with her cooking.

"Hey! Gary!" She said, catching me

"Um… it's not what it looks like." I said

"It looks like you just snuck some potatoes." She said, putting her hands on her hips

"Okay, then it's exactly what it looks like." I said, giving her a sheepish smile

She just shook her head and walked over to me. She kissed me, but then pulled my arm behind my back, and started to whisper in my ear.

"If you steal some of my cooking again, I'll hurt you so bad, you won't know which way is up." She said in a low, angry voice, but then switched to a nice girly one "Okay?"

Okay, that scared me. I just whimpered that I understood her, then left. I guess that you don't mess with Liz when it comes to her cooking. I left the kitchen to look for Ghost. If I had to guess, he'd be in the rec room with MacTavish and Price. It was good to have everybody back and alive. MacTavish had just recovered from his wound in Prague, and the Makarov hunt was going good. When I walked into the rec room, I saw them sitting at a round table with Frost, Gator (that's what we named Sandler after finding out he went to the University of Florida), and Yankee (the name we gave Hendrix after finding out she was from New York). By the looks of it, they were all playing poker. I walked over to the table just as everybody lost to Ghost. I guess they were all at an unfair advantage with him wearing his mask. They couldn't see his facial expression, so they couldn't know if he was bluffing or not. All they had to go on was that creepy skull mask. I walked over to them and pulled up a chair. I looked over to Ghost and smirked.

"Hey Ghost, Halloween was like, a month ago. Why don't you lose the mask?" I said

Frost burst out laughing, and Soap chuckled a little bit, and all Price did was give a small smirk. Ghost looked over at me, giving me a death glare through his glasses.

"Hey Roach, isn't there someone else you should be bugging?" he said

"Really? I say you're still dressed for Halloween, and you come back with 'bugging'? You need to up your game bro."

I get up, trying to find some other thing to do, and finally get the idea to turn the TV on and watch some American Football. I turned it onto the first game I could find. It was the New York Giants at the Jacksonville Jaguars. The score was 35-28, with New York in the lead. I sat down on the couch and started to watch. As I watched, I heard shouts come from the table.

"Come on Giants! Get rid of the ball! No!" Yankee yelled as the Giant's quarterback was sacked

"Ha! Yes, go Jaguars!" Gator said

"Oh, come on! How can you back the Jaguars?"

"Because they're a good team?" He said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world

"Come back to me when they actually win a Super Bowl."

After that, Gator just stopped talking. He knew that she won, and he wasn't going to try and come back with anything. I didn't know much about American Football, but I did know that the Super Bowl was they're championship game to see who was the best team for that season. I didn't know how many times the Giants had won that game, but according to Yankee, the Jaguars haven't won a single time.

"Hey Yankee, how many times have the Giants won the Super Bowl?" I called back

"Four. Once to the Broncos, another to the Bills, and the last two to the Patriots."

Well then. I guess the Giants were a pretty good team. And the Patriots must suck if they've lost to the Giants twice in a row. After a while, Liz came in and got us. I guess that dinner must be ready. We all practically ran for the mess hall, all except for Price. He just walked there. When we got there, I sat in between Liz and Yankee. After saying grace, we all started to dig in. I loaded my plate with a little bit of everything, and then came my favorite part: time to stuff my face. I started to practically shovel the food into my mouth, but then again, so did everybody. It wasn't every day that you got to eat good quality food like this in the military. I doubt the guys over in the Middle East were eating food this good right now. But the name of the holiday is Thanksgiving, but the thing I'm thankful for most was the fact that I'm alive and surrounded by my family.

 **One Month Later**

 **Yankee's POV**

It was Christmas Eve, and everybody was getting in the spirit. We decorated half the base in red and green, there were mistletoe hanging under almost every doorway, so only one person went through a door at one time. But the best part was the rec room. The tree was set up in there, and it was beautiful. All the different ornaments that hung off of it were amazing, and when I was in the room, I could hardly keep my eyes off of it. It was amazing. I couldn't wait until tomorrow morning. Then we could open up all the presents that people have been putting under the tree for the past couple days. We're all grownups here, so we know there's no Santa Claus to deliver presents, so when nobody's around, we've all been putting presents under the tree for one another. I got Riley a set of colored pencils, like the really good Prismacolor ones, and a sketch pad. I know that he loves to draw, but he just hasn't been able to because of the war and because he doesn't have the materials. But he'll be able to draw with the stuff that I got him. His face is going to light up like a little kid at, well, Christmas. I just wonder what he got me. I'll just have to find out tomorrow morning. For now, I was heading for the rec room. Everybody was going to get together and watch a movie and drink hot chocolate. I picked the movie, and I picked a comedy. I picked Elf. It's a comedy with Will Farrell, who crawls into Santa's bag as a baby and grows up in the North Pole thinking he's an elf. But when he grows up, he goes to New York City to find his dad when he's told that his dad's on the naughty list. It's a really good and funny movie. When I got there, everybody else was already getting ready and Riley was just putting the movie in.

"Going to begin without me?" I ask him

"No, just wanted to get past all the previews for movies that came out thirteen years ago." He said

I went to the Keurig that we keep in there (yeah, we get a Keurig in the rec room, how awesome is that?) and started to make myself a cup of hot cocoa. By the time it was done, Riley was able to skip to the main menu. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to him, and he started the movie. I rested my head on his shoulder and I looked at him. He was already looking down at me, and I leaned up to kiss him. It was one of my favorite moments ever.

 **The Next Morning**

Oh my god! It's Christmas! This was my favorite holiday of the year. I quickly ran for the rec room, and when I got there, Ghost and Hazard were already there. She was just about to open up a present, but I quickly snatched it from her hands.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked

"You're supposed to wait for everyone in the family to gather around the tree before opening presents!" I said

"I don't care. Give me my present!"

She lunged for me, but I dodged her, and started running around the rec room. She started chasing me, and in our shenanigans, we failed to realize that everyone found a spot around the tree.

"Oi! When you muppets are done being nimrods, you can sit down." Ghost said

I stopped running, but Hazard didn't. She ran right into me, knocking me down. She took her present then walked over by Ghost. Bitch. I was only trying to be funny. I know that I've only known her about a month, but she doesn't have to be such a bitch about everything. I got up and walked over by Riley. I sat down and we all started to open up our presents. I was right when I said that he would be a little boy. When he say those presents, his face lit up like a, um, well like a Christmas tree. I grabbed his present, and opened it up. I found a new combat knife on the inside. It was beautiful. It was six inches of razor sharp stainless steel with a serrated edge. It was perfect. I looked over at him and tackled him in a hug. I kissed him and then we all continued to open presents. When everyone was done, we picked up the garbage and gathered around the fireplace. We started to share war stories and it was nice. I think I liked Price's the most.

"When I first met Soap, the first thing I said to him was 'What the hell kind of a name is Soap? How'd a muppet like you pass selection?'"

"Wait, those were the first words you said to him?" Roach asked, trying not to die of laughter

"Aye. I was kind of insulted, and I didn't help myself when I ran the cargo ship in almost a minute. I mean, compared to Gaz's nineteen seconds, I seemed to be an elderly person."

"Who's Gaz?" I ask

Soap and Price share a look before Price answers. "Gaz was the equivalent of Ghost. Only Gaz was killed by Imran Zakhaev."

"Oh." I say quietly

After that, we keep sharing stories. It was a good time, but eventually, we had to go to bed. It was getting late, and I was tired. Riley and I headed back to our room and we got into bed. I cuddled up close to him, and soon, I drifted off to sleep.

 **New Year's Eve**

It was a minute from midnight, and we were watching the ball start to drop in New York City. We all gathered close to each other and began to count backwards.

"TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR!" We all chanted

Everybody started kissing each other. Well, only those who were together. So I got a kiss from Riley. Roach kissed Liz, Ghost kissed Hazard, Frost kissed Midnight, and Soap actually ended up kissing Neon, which I did not see coming. I guess the big guy was good at keeping his emotions hidden. But now it was the first page in a 365 page book. Time to start writing.


	26. Dust to Dust

**A.N.: Hey guys, what's up? So here it is: Dust to Dust. I'm going to try and make it a longer chapter, but I'm not that great at making chapters longer. But I'm going to try my best so I hope you guys like it. So, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **Captain John Price**

 **Task Force 141**

 **Colorado, United States of America**

I started to cross everybody off of our board. We've gone through everybody that Makarov knows. They're all either in prison or they're dead. Makarov was still at large, but that was about to change. We didn't know where he was yet, but I had an idea that would paint him on a target. One phone call and we'd be able to trace him.

"Who is this?" Makarov said when he finally answered

"Prisoner 6-2-7. I'm coming for you Makarov." I said

"Haven't you heard, Price? They say the war is over."

"My war ends with you."

"Like it ended for Lieutenant Bancroft?" **(I realize as I'm writing this that I don't believe that you guys ever learned Spirit's real name. I know she died a while ago, but her name was Mary Bancroft. I'm gonna do another fic that shows the team before their time in the Task Force and a little before the beginning of Modern Warfare 2, so that'll be coming to you guys soon.)**

"I've destroyed your world piece by piece. It's only a matter of time until I find you."

We got him. The Hotel Oasis. It was in the Arabian Peninsula. "You won't have to look far."

 **One Day Later**

We were sitting inside an armored truck preparing for the assault on the hotel. I knew there was going to be increased security since Makarov was here and he had his own private army, but that wasn't going to stop us. We were going to use Juggernaut armor to get in close to him. We're just going to have to hope that it's enough. Only four of us were going in. Me, Yuri, Ghost, and Roach. Soap was staying back because I still didn't feel like he was battle ready. Besides, he's gotten to kill every man that has caused me pain in my life. I needed to kill this one. I needed for Makarov to be able to look me in the eye as I take his life.

"Step out of the vehicle!" a merc outside the truck said

Yeah, like that's going to happen. I was ready to kill Makarov and I wasn't going to do that by listening to this arsehole.

"You sure this armor will protect us?" Yuri asked

Apparently he's never used Juggernaut armor. It'll protect us from pretty much anything below a .50 caliber bullet.

"We're going to open fire!" the merc yelled outside again

"It'll buy us time. Nikolai, are you patched into their system?" I asked

"Working on it. My Arabic's a little rusty." Nikolai said

"Fire!"

Bullets hit the doors of the truck, but didn't come through. We continued to get our equipment and guns ready.

"I've tapped into their security feed. Makarov is in the atrium on the top floor." Nikolai said

"This is it. Makarov doesn't leave here alive." I said

I picked up my PKP Pecheneg and got ready to jump out of the truck. Once everyone was ready, Yuri and I pushed the doors open and we opened fire on the mercs. The ones that were still alive either ran or were stupid enough to shoot at us.

"We've got their attention! Second wave of responders will be coming at any moment!" I yelled

A mercenary tried to hit Ghost with his gun, but Ghost just hit him with the stock of his gun and shot him. More SUVs started to come up the road, but we opened fire on them, killing everyone inside.

"Makarov's got a small army in there!" Roach said

"It won't help him. Take control of the lifts so he can't escape." I said to Nikolai

"I'm on it." He said

We start to move closer to a turnaround at the base of the hotel. More SUVs were dropping mercs off. They got out of the cars, but they didn't last long before we cut them down. We continued our advance to the hotel.

"RPGs! Second floor!" Yuri yelled

I looked up, then began to shoot at any hostile I saw on the second floor of the hotel. Once they were killed, we moved up into the hotel.

"Civilians coming out. Watch your fire!" Ghost said

"Nikolai, where's Makarov?" I asked

"Still in the atrium, but he's on the move!"

"Don't lose him! We're almost there!"

On both sides of the lobby are escalators, and more hostiles begin to pour down them. We clear them out, and start to move up. We clear out any hostiles on the second floor and move towards the lifts.

"Nikolai, we need control of those lifts!" I said

"I've almost got it!" He said "Okay, I've got control of the elevators. Sending them down to your floor."

We moved up to the lifts, and when they arrived, Ghost and Roach got in the left one while Yuri and I got in the right one. As we go up, a video feed shows on my helmet.

"Makarov's moved to the restaurant, same floor! He's got a large security detail with him." Nikolai said

"What kind of opposition is waiting for us?" Ghost asked

"Forty-plus foot mobiles! SMGs and assault rifles!"

I heard the whirring of a helicopter, so I looked outside the lift. I saw two of them, one gaining altitude, while the other one remained below us.

"Enemy choppers closing on your position." Nikolai informed us

 _Yeah, no kidding._ "One is heading for the roof, probably going for Makarov." I said

The second helicopter finally gained some altitude and I saw that this was no normal chopper. A bloody MH-6 Little Bird. It fired its rockets at me and Yuri, and the four of us continued to light them up with our light machine guns. Someone ended up hitting the rotor, and the bastard went into a flat spin. Only problem, the chopper came right for our lift. It struck us, causing the lift to burst into flames. I was thrown back into the door, hitting my head. I watched as Yuri started to rip the flaming armor off of him. I tried to move to get my own blazing Kevlar off, but I was still to groggy to move. After Yuri was done with his armor, he stripped me of mine. He helped me to my feet and we started to look for a way out.

"I've got an idea." Yuri said "Stand back!"

Roach and Ghost moved to the sides of their lift as Yuri shot the glass out. He jumped over and I went to follow, but the lift gave way underneath me just as I jumped. I barely grabbed onto the edge, and I pulled myself up into the car, where we continued to the top floor. As we got there, Yuri tossed a frag and ran into the fray.

"Watch yourself, Yuri! Your armor's gone!" I yelled to him "Ghost, Roach, take point!"

They moved forward while Yuri and I hung back. Within a minute, we were outside the restaurant, but more hostiles were pouring in behind us.

"Roach, Ghost, cover our six! Yuri, with me!" I yelled

We ran into the restaurant, killing any hostile in our path. We turned a corner to continue the chase when I saw the asshole. He was in a grey suit with black gloves, and a fucking scarf around his shoulders.

"THERE HE IS!" I yelled

I ignored all the gunfire coming my way, and I started to sprint towards him, but then another bloody Little Bird came up and shot all the supports of the floor. The floor collapsed under me and slanted to the outside of the building. I started to slide down, but luck seemed to be on my side. There was a piece of rebar sticking out of a destroyed support column. I grabbed onto it, watching a mercenary and my gun fall out of the building. I hauled myself up, and saw something that worried me, and I don't know why. Yuri was impaled on another piece of rebar.

"Yuri…" I whispered

He just shook his head. "Leave me! Don't let him get away!"

I didn't want to, but I continued to run after Makarov. I couldn't let him get away. I ran through parts of collapsed hallways and staircases to get to the roof. As soon as I got out there, I saw the helicopter. The bastard was just closing the door when I continued sprinting. By the time I got to the edge, the chopper was already in the air and I was _not_ going to let that bastard slip through my hands again. I leapt of the roof, and I had a flashback to many years ago.

" _Keep moving!" I said_

" _Where the hell is it?" Gaz yelled_

 _The Sea Knight came around the side of the cargo ship, and we all got on board. A moment later, I heard Griffen yell something about jumping. What's the bugger talking about? I glanced behind me to see the FNG slipping off the ramp. I jumped at him and grabbed him by the arms._

" _Gotcha!" I said_

 _I pulled him up and we flew away, heading back to Credenhill. Back to home._

I find it funny how the first mission that Soap goes on, he jumps for a chopper to complete it, and now all these years later, I'm jumping to complete my mission. I grabbed onto the landing skid, and started to pull myself up. The pilot tried to kick me off, but I blocked his foot and threw him out of the cockpit to his death down below. I pulled myself into the cockpit, where the co-pilot tried to pull a gun on me. I pushed his hand out of the way, making him shoot the controls. I pulled out my knife and I stabbed him in the throat before pushing him out of the helicopter. I grabbed the joystick and I pushed it in the direction of the hotel's roof. I was going to crash this bird. The hope was that it killed Makarov, but if it killed me too, then so be it. A couple moments later, the crash came.

I woke up after I don't know how much time. I looked at my reflection in the glass roof. A glass roof that was cracking. I looked towards the wreckage and saw something that I didn't want to see: Makarov stumbling from the helicopter. I looked down and saw the pilot's pistol on the ground. I tried to use my left arm, but pain flared through it. Right arm it is. I started to crawl towards it, but the bastard saw the gun too. Just as I reached it, he stomped on my wrist, taking the gun from underneath my hand. He pointed the gun in my face and looked me dead in the eye.

"Good-bye, Captain Price." He said

But then, Yuri came out of nowhere, opening fire on Makarov while clutching his stomach. But the moment didn't last for long. Makarov returned fire, hitting Yuri in both shoulders, then in the forehead. Now this pissed me off. The bastard shot him and left him for dead in a parking garage. Then, he just kills him in cold blood months later? No. Makarov was going to be stopped. I was going to kill him and he was going to feel pain. I pushed myself off the roof, and tackled the bastard. I punched him with my right hand, then my left, and then my right again. I saw a tow cable nearby, so I grabbed it and started to wrap it around his neck. After that, I started to choke him. I picked him up off the roof and slammed him back into it. I slammed him into the roof again, and the final time, I clipped the cable's hook to the chord. After that, I slammed all my energy into the roof, and the glass shattered. Makarov shouted in my face as he put his hands up, but before he could do anything, the slack in the cable ran out, and he was hung. I crashed through the railing on the top floor of the atrium, and I watched him hang there, twitching until he was finally dead. I pulled myself away from the edge, and leaned up against a wall. I finally pulled out a cigar that I had been saving for this occasion: a Villa Clara. I pulled out my old lighter and tried to light it. It didn't ignite. I tried it again, but it still wouldn't light. When I tried it for the third time, it finally lit and I started to smoke the cigar while staring at Makarov's dead body. It was a bad day to be Makarov.


	27. FINAL CHAPTER

**A.N.: Hey guys, what's up? Unfortunately, we have arrived at the final chapter of the story. This will take place about three years after Makarov died. It's five years before the events of Black Ops II (in case you guys forgot, I'm merging the two timelines because other than a few small events, it's totally possible) so it'll show everyone before Raul Menendez wreaks havoc on the world in 2025. So, please, R+R, PM, and enjoy. Until next time, OPKILLERFROST, out.**

 **Tracking… Found**

 **John Price**

 **Special Air Service (Ret)**

 **The Vault**

I was with Woods again in his room as we shared war stories. His were far different from mine due to his war being fought in the Seventies and Eighties, and mine just ten years ago, but there were some similarities.

"So, Mason, being the crazy bastard that he was, jumps off the fucking plane, runs to an AA gun, and shoots the fucking blockade, allowing us to leave. I didn't know what happened to him after that, but apparently Krafchenko got ahold of him and put him in Vorkuta. Aaand that's where Mason lost his fucking mind and met Tricky-Vic." Woods said

"I can think of some times when Soap was a crazy bastard. For one, we were outlaws, Shepherd branding us war criminals. We had finally caught up with the bastard, shot down his Pave Low, but out boat had gone over a waterfall. When I woke up, I didn't know where I was, but I heard some scraping and headed that way. When I finally get to the source, it's the crashed heli. Nearby, Shepherd is giving Soap some kind of speech as Soap was laying in the sand with a knife sticking out of his chest. I stumble closer, and just as Shepherd goes to shoot him, I tackle the bastard. After a fist fight, Shepherd ends up on top of me, punching me in the face repeatedly. I'm unconscious but while I was getting beaten, Soap pulls the fucking knife out of his chest and throws it right into Shepherd's left eye, killing him instantly. The crazy bastard saved me by nearly killing himself." I said

We both had a couple laughs over that, but the nurse came in, telling me that was my que to leave. I got up and headed back to my room. When I opened the door, there was somebody already inside. Using whatever stealth that I've retained over the past five years, I tried to sneak up behind the bastard. I got right behind them when the floorboard creaked.

"Trying to kill me, old man?" the crazy bastard said

"Soap?" I asked

"How you been, Price?"

"How have I been? Where have you been? I haven't seen you in over two years and you just show up here unannounced? What the hell have you been doing?" I asked

"Stopping China Insurgents from launching an ICBM at the United States. I guess my Russian came in handy again."

I chuckled after that. I knew exactly what he was talking about. In 2011, Imran Zakhaev fired two ICBMs at the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and we had to enter abort codes to destroy them. Soap had entered them in, somehow knowing what buttons on the keyboard to hit. I guess he knew more Russian than I gave him credit for.

"Still would've been nice to know what was going on. Just because I'm too old to be out there with you doesn't mean that I can't know what's going on."

"It does when you're retired and the intel is classified."

"Screw classified. Since when do I care about classified?"

"Good point."

"So how's the boys in J-SOC?"

About a year after Makarov was killed, someone under the name of Odysseus hacked the government's database of the Task Force's members, and released it into the web. No longer safe while on leave, we were forced to disband. Most joined J-SOC, but I went into retirement. I didn't have that many good years left in me, so I might as well quit early. I went into retirement at The Vault while everyone else went on to bigger and better things.

"They're good. So are the girls, in case you were wondering."

I was, but the majority of the lot were men, so I asked that question. So what if I didn't specifically ask about the lasses?

"As long as they're safe, I'm not worried. I'm sure they'll be fine."

 **Roach's POV (I found it fitting, that I start with Roach's POV in the first chapter, and I end with his in this one)**

It was nice on the USS Obama. Sure, it sucked being stuck on a ship, but it had its perks. Nobody can really storm out on you when you're arguing, nobody can really go AWOL, it's not confusing to remember what buildings are which. But it did have some drawbacks. There weren't many signs telling you where to go, so it was kind of confusing to find your way around. Like right now, I couldn't remember the way to the rec room, so I was kind of just really confused at the moment. I kept going down a hallway and took a right and ended up in the mess hall. Not where I wanted to be. I left and continued down that same hallway, and this time took a left. War room. Damnit. I walked back and yet again continued down the hallway until I felt someone grab the back of my shirt. I started rubbing the back of my neck until I felt someone's lips press to mine. I pulled away and found that it was Liz. Okay, as long as some random chick ain't kissing me, I'm happy. I kissed her back and I closed the door she pulled me into. It was a storage closet, so there probably wasn't much hope of us being disturbed. We continued to kiss until someone came into the closet. It was Ghost. He always knew where to find us when he needed something. It was kind of creepy.

"Oi! Get your arses to the war room! We got a problem." He said

Unfortunately, we stopped kissing and left the closet. When we got there, Lieutenant Commander David "Section" Mason was there giving a briefing.

"Anybody ever hear of a man named Raul Menendez?"


End file.
